Honey, Honey
by Kaori-chan2
Summary: AU-ficlets, set after the school omake. Ch. 10: The karaoke party continues and Lisanna has a big surprise for Lucy.
1. Love's Knocking on her Door

AN: So I wrote a shoujo manga-uh, fanfic. It's just simple, fluffy, romantic WAFF-stuff that seriously came out of nowhere. I may or may not continue this in some way… but I wouldn't wait for it.

Set some time after the events of the school omake.

Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, Pantherlily would be named Tigerlily.

**Honey, Honey**

"So yeah, that's how it is," Natsu said nonchalantly to Lucy who had suddenly become very pale, "I like you."

Wait a minute. Her brain couldn't quite grasp this.

"R-repeat that."

He frowned at her. "I think you heard me."

Lucy felt her jaw drop open, and if this were a manga, then it would have surely hit the ground by now. Okay, now wait just a teeny-tiny second. She needed a moment to record that. There _was_ a chance he was joking. After all, who would say something like that straight-faced as if it was the most normal thing on earth that is done on a daily basis? Shouldn't he be all blushy-blushy, stutter-stutter?

_This guy likes me._

What the hell kind of joke was that?!

He had to be kidding. This was Natsu, for god's sake. The biggest trouble maker she knew, and the closest thing to a delinquent Fairy Academy had. He was a god damn Yankee. Wait, that had nothing to do with this, since he had just confessed to her. That he kind of liked her.

Was he messing with her?!

Lucy's palms suddenly felt very moist. She felt her lips curl upwards in an awkward smile and soon a nervous giggle bubbled out from her mouth. Her head was spinning. She really needed to lie down.

"Eh… he… ehehe… eh he…"

Natsu suspiciously arched a brow at her. Meanwhile, Lucy concentrated on not fainting in front of that guy.

"D-did you lose a bet or something? I-I mean, y-you're kidding, right?" she finally managed to sputter in a weird laugh.

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Yeah, it did. At least, she wanted to believe so.

Lucy gulped, still smiling weirdly. "W-well, you can't really be serious, can you?"

His frown sort of answered her question, and her smile was wiped off her face almost immediately. He looked kind of disappointed when he glanced aside; now he actually had a tad more in common with the stereotypical guy-who-confesses, and it made Lucy less sure that he was just joking. A little bit at least.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're really starting to hurt my feelings," Natsu mumbled, and maybe he was blushing a bit, but that could just be her imagination. "It's not like I can chose who I like or something. This isn't my fault, okay. If you wanna blame someone, then blame yourself!"

If this were a manga, there would be a picture of a very dot-eyed Lucy. But then again, if this were a manga, Natsu wouldn't tell her to blame herself as if he _hated_ the fact that he fell for her. She felt her eyes narrow doubtfully.

Natsu groaned, rolling his eyes. "Look, what more do you want me to say?" Something nice wouldn't hurt, idiot. "You made me like you, now deal with it."

Lucy was suddenly very aware of how warm her cheeks felt, realizing she was probably blushing pretty bad. Even though this confession had nothing romantic or flattering at all. Frankly speaking, this was probably the most nonchalant confession of all time.

And how come she wasn't yelling at him yet?! That dumbass had the nerve to tell her to just _deal with it_ as if it was her responsibility! This wasn't how she pictured her first time being confessed to by a guy to be.

Where were the rainbows and butterflies, damn it?!

Okay, she needed to sound seriously pissed now, because she was. Damn right, she was happy-uh, pissed. Of course she was pissed! Not happy. Who'd be happy after this messed up confession?

"Y-you." Damn it! That sounded anything but pissed. "You're saying that you like me."

Now she was pretty sure Natsu _was_ blushing. "Don't say it like it's a weird thing!"

"It _is_ a weird thing!" she squealed. "I-I mean, you never even treated me like a girl. You always tease me, call me a freak or other names and play mean little tricks on me. I really thought you couldn't stand me and now suddenly you… It's – it's really unexpected, you know!"

He dug his hands in it pockets, looking at his shoes. "I didn't expect it either, you know. But it's like this now, so… yeah," he murmured at the ground.

Lucy frowned oddly at him. "And what's that about it being my fault anyway? How's it my fault that you… that you… How is that my fault?!" Okay, this was getting pretty embarrassing after all.

Natsu hid his mouth behind his scarf; he wore that damn thing even now, during summer. "Then stop being Lucy. Maybe then I won't like you."

What.

_What's this idiot saying?!_

She felt her face flush ten different shades of red, and for some reason only god knew she suddenly got goose bumps; and it wasn't cold out here in the schoolyard. Oh holy shit, this guy was totally and entirely serious, wasn't he?

God damn it.

What was she supposed to do now? Lucy didn't hate the guy, but she wasn't even used to the idea of calling him her friend yet, let alone her… b-boyfriend! She never even _had_ a boyfriend in her life, to be honest.

"Lucy?"

Her head shot up, she was still pretty flustered. "Y-yes?"

Natsu looked away. "So what should I make of this?" he mumbled quietly, as if he expected her to reject him.

Lucy pressed her lips together, uncomfortably playing with her fingers. Calling this situation awkward would be an understatement. But she was surprised to find herself unsure whether she should reject or accept his confession. She really didn't hate him, and he _was_ pretty hot. He'd be pretty popular among the girls if they weren't that scared of his attitude.

Oh god, his attitude. She'd never be able to put up with this hothead.

…Right?

"I-I need some time to think about it," she heard herself say weakly.

Natsu frowned at her for a while, and then shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

"No… way."

Lucy sipped uneasily on her juice box, cheeks still pretty warm from… the _incident_ earlier. Across from her sat her girl friends who were trying hard to realize what Lucy had just said. Erza had a look of pure disbelief on her face while Mirajane was smirking happily to herself (what the hell?), and Levy's face looked like some weird mixture of shocked and horrified.

Their expressions pretty much summed up Lucy's feelings perfectly.

Erza was the first one to snap out of it, "He actually confessed to you." She paused dramatically. "Natsu did."

Lucy nodded stiffly, sucking harder on the strawberry juice. It sounded even more implausible when others said it.

"Whoa, didn't know he had that in him," Levy mumbled, eyes almost bulging out.

Mirajane unwrapped her lunch, triumphantly smiling to herself. "I knew from the start. I have the sixth sense for that kinda stuff," she said.

Well, that was certainly true. Lucy had to hand her that bitterly. She still remembered that one time when Natsu had been particularly mean to her and she had complained to the school idol about it. Mirajane had jokingly told her that Natsu might do that because he actually liked her a lot; in a romantic way, that is. Let's just say, things got pretty awkward afterwards.

She sure had been right, though. Damn it.

"You're sure it's not just a bet?" Mirajane whacked Levy over the head. "Ow! H-hey, you've gotta admit that it's pretty much out of the blue!" The rant went on, but Lucy wasn't really listening.

Erza ignored both of them, and frowned at Lucy. "So are you two going out now?"

Mirajane and Levy immediately shut their mouths, staring at their friend with wide eyes. Lucy felt herself blush pretty badly, and tried to hide it by looking down. God, the way she was acting it was almost as if she _was_ going out with him, not the opposite. She was very, very confused.

"N-no." Oh great, her voice was still trembling. "I told him I needed time to think about it."

"So you rejected him," Levy stated flatly.

Mirajane gave a fake sob. "Oh no, my poor little Natsu!"

"No!" Lucy said once more, blushing even more. "I-I really do need time to think. I'm not sure what I'm going to answer him yet…"

Mirajane was suddenly beaming at her. "Seriously? You mean it could be you'll say yes?" she exclaimed in excitement, bending forward a bit.

Lucy arched an eyebrow. "Maybe," she pointed out slowly. She felt pretty insane even saying that.

"Does that mean you kinda like him?"

The blonde felt feverish by now, and Levy's questions really didn't help her state. Why did that girl have to be this straight-forward with that sort of stuff?

"I-I don't know." It was sort of true. "I don't hate him?"

Levy waved it off. "That's half-assed. You should reject him," she said matter-of-factly, examining her nails.

"She's just not sure of her own feelings yet! That's totally normal for a pubescent girl," Mirajane interfered with a motherly smile; Lucy sometimes forgot that she was her age. "I think you should go for it. You and Natsu make such a lovely pair. I'm cheering you on, Lucy!"

"That's stupid," Levy said to Mirajane. "She shouldn't go out with him just because she 'doesn't hate him'. Something like that really sucks."

"Like I've been saying, she probably just doesn't know that she likes him yet."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

Lucy followed their conversation with a weird expression of pure bewilderment on her face. Some advice that was. Both were right in some way. It wouldn't be fair on Natsu to go out with him even though she wasn't sure if she liked him. But then again, she wasn't sure if she liked him. It could be she did have feelings for him, but didn't really realize them, so Mirajane was right, too.

A girl's heart was fickle, right?

She glanced to the other side of the cafeteria where Natsu was goofing around with Gray, Loki and the likes, like nothing ever happened. Either that guy was very good at keeping his feelings a secret, or he just didn't care that he might have gotten rejected.

Stupid idiot, messing with her mind.

"I think you should try to get to know each other better."

Lucy's head shot up at the sound of Erza's voice, and apparently Levy and Mirajane were curious, too. "What do you mean? I think I know him pretty well," she said.

Erza smirked in amusement. "Sure, you know him as your classmate, but do you know him outside of school?"

"Well, there was this one time we went to karaoke after you and Siegrain-kun--"

"Let's not go there," said the scarlet-haired woman sharply and Lucy flinched at her deadly glare. Oh right, that date didn't go well at all. Actually, it had pretty much been a complete flop.

Mirajane gently nudged Lucy in the side. "Erza's right. Before you decide you should get to know him first," she purred with a smug smile. "Natsu is a great guy once you get past his rough attitude, you know. He's really sweet and caring and he'd protect you from anything."

Erza nodded. "Out of all the idiots he's the most reliable."

"Are you complimenting or insulting him…?" Levy mumbled, then sighed. "It's true, though. He _is_ a good guy. Also, he's pretty hot and I know what I'm talking about," she flashed them a large grin, "Since I saw him naked."

Lucy immediately spat out her juice while Erza choked on her bread.

"Oooh my," Mirajane cooed, very much intrigued.

"Where the hell did you see him naked!?"

Levy quirked a brow as if their choleric reactions were really uncalled-for. "It was in the gym a while back, I passed by and the boys just happened to forget to close the door to their locker room." When she grinned mischievously, even Erza blushed. "And let's say, _that_ was definitely above average."

"Levy!" Erza snapped, her ears were glowing red. "That's indecent!"

"I mean his abs, you pervert," Levy smiled while Mirajane giggled. Erza looked like she was on the brink of melting into an embarrassed pulp.

Lucy knitted up her brows, her friends' words still in the process of sinking in. She ignored their friendly argument and glanced over at Natsu once more, surprised when she found herself wondering what he and his friends were talking about. The truth is, she always felt kind of uneasy whenever he was around and figured it would go away once she knew him better. Maybe now was her chance to do that.

She kept staring at him, unconsciously smiling when he choked on his food between laughs. But then he suddenly looked up and their eyes met, and Lucy ruggedly snapped out of it, her face rapidly heating up. Natsu flashed her a teasing grin that she found oddly endearing, but instead of smiling back, she sent him an angry scowl and turned away.

It didn't mean anything that her heart just skipped a beat, right?

* * *

Much to her surprise, Lucy was still thinking about Natsu even when school ended. She kept telling herself that maybe as soon as she left the school grounds it would stop. It wasn't as if she never thought about him before this day… N-not that she ever _did_ think about him!

Not in _that_ way at least. Right…? Oh yes, of course.

She took a deep breath, in and out, releasing her thoughts of that dork with it. Or so she made herself believe. Humming her favorite song to distract herself, she went directly to her locker and opened it to change shoes.

That was when she heard _it_. It came from the locker row behind hers.

"C'mooon…" A girl giggled. Lucy cringed at the sound of her voice; that hurt. She prayed to god that those two wouldn't start doing _things_.

"What do you want me to do?"

Lucy's eyes widened. Hold on. That voice seemed awfully familiar.

The horny girl giggled again. "You know what I want, Na-tsu-kun."

Now wait a minute. Natsu?

_What the… THAT ASSHOLE!_

The blonde clasped a hand over her mouth to muffle a gasp of shock and leaned backwards against her locker. No, no, no. This wasn't right. She couldn't be jealous and act like a girlfriend over a guy she wasn't even on that good terms with. He was free to do whatever he wanted, right? He didn't owe her anything. Just because he confessed to her didn't mean he was obligated to look only at her.

She knew all that, but a girl didn't need a reason to get pissed at a guy. She clenched her teeth. _I'm gonna show that bastard…_

"Sorry, I already told you," she suddenly heard Natsu say, "I'm not gonna do that anymore. There's a girl I really like now."

Lucy's eyes widened, her cheeks suddenly feeling warmer. He was talking about her… right?

"Eeeh? So we're not going to play anymore?"

Sheesh, didn't Natsu already tell her it was over? That stupid, horny bitch should just get off his back and leave him the hell alone if she wanted to see the next day. Not that Lucy was jealous or anything… Well, maybe a little.

"Nope. See ya."

Before Lucy could react, Natsu was suddenly standing right in view, and they were staring at each other in utter shock, both didn't know what to say or to do. It felt like an awkward eternity, but in reality it was just a few awkward seconds until Natsu finally snapped out of it.

"L-Lucy!" he sputtered, cheeks flushed.

She was sure she was blushing just as madly as him, but tried to hide it as she looked down, very much flustered. "U-um… I – I didn't hear anything, you know…"

"Ah! Oh yeah, no, didn't think so. Ha-ha," he laughed oddly, scratching his neck.

Of course they both knew that Lucy _did_ hear everything, or at least the important parts. Which was maybe why the silence that followed this awkward conversation was even more awkward. Lucy felt her wild heartbeat pumping in her ears as she carefully avoided his gaze, although she was fairly sure he was too embarrassed to look at her anyway. She really wanted to say something, anything, but her mind was blank and her mouth was too dry.

"Well, I guess I'd better go then."

Lucy's head shot up at this. Natsu was frowning uncomfortably at the ground, shouldering his school bag.

"See ya, Lucy."

"Wait!"

The word bubbled out of her mouth before she could form any coherent thought and when Natsu looked at her in pure bewilderment, she realized that she didn't even know what to say. That was when she remembered what Erza told her earlier this day, something about getting to know him better. Next thing she knew she took that advice and came up with something unexpected, even for her.

"Can… can we go home together?" she sputtered weakly, cheeks burning up.

Natsu gawked at her as if she had asked him to cut off his arms. He was silently staring for at least a minute, but then cleared his throat, obviously pretty flustered.

"Sure, whatever. I mean, it's okay if you really want to, you know. It's not like I care," he murmured with feigned indifference. When he saw Lucy's frown, he groaned, ruffling his hair, "Ah shit, who am I kidding?"

She felt her lips curl upwards to a soft smile, and for the first time around this guy the heat in her cheeks didn't feel unpleasant at all… rather welcome. In a weird way, but definitely not a bad one.

"Alright," she said warmly, cocking her head. "Let's go."

Natsu actually smiled at her. She immediately thought he had the cutest grin.

"Yeah."


	2. Mail Madness

AN: I've always wanted to write something like this! And it seemed to work perfectly with this AU-story. So, since some of you really wanted a sequel, here it is! Maybe I'll make it an AU-series of small or bigger ficlets. It's so much fun!

Oh, and please tell me if you want more of those email things. They're so much fun it's scary.

Set some time after the events of the school omake.

Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, Hughes would be on of the main characters.

**Honey, Honey**

**From:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Bcc:** Levy (bookworm73); Erza (titania3824)

**Subject:** I want details!

Luuucy~

I heard you walked home with Natsu today and I wanna know EVERYTHING. How was it? What does it mean? Are you two officially going out now (finally)? Oh, I knew you were perfect for each other! I knew right from the start!

Love,

Mira

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject:** RE: I want details!

First of all, where the heck did you hear that?

Second of all, no we're not going out. He just walked me home and that's it. And what's with that "finally" and "perfect for each other"? Did I miss something?

Anyway, we hardly talked and he barely even looked at me. I don't know if that guy really likes me. He's acting pretty weird, even for him.

I REALLY wanna know where you heard that though…

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** RE: I want details!

My spies are everywhere, tehee~

Aww, what a shame! I was keeping my fingers crossed for him to kiss you (finally). I'm purposely using "finally" again because everyone in school knows there's some sparks between you two. To put it frankly, everyone in town knows it. There are even people in the farthest corners of the world who know it. Hermits even know about it. There are probably monks somewhere on Mt Hakobe who are saying "Do you know that Natsu and Lucy have something going on?" and "Why yes, yes of course, everyone knows that." I hope I made myself clear about just how perfect Natsu is for you. :-P

He's probably just really shy. It happens to every guy when he's with the girl he likes, even to the hyper Natsu. Don't give up hope, Lucy!

PS: It really sounds like you WANTED him to do something. Did you?

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject:** RE: I want details!

That… scares me in eight different ways.

And just so you know, half of your email made no sense at all. CAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE. I'm not sure if I like Natsu in that way. Heck, I'm not even entirely sure HE likes me in that way.

And I DID NOT want him to do something! It wasn't even a date!

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** RE: I want details!

Sounds like you're just in denial to meee~

You should've just told him you wanted a date. Don't worry, I'll ask Natsu about it for you. :-)

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject:** RE: I want details!

Hold on! I didn't mean it like that!

DON'T YOU DARE EMAIL HIM! MIRAAA!

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Levy (bookworm73)

**To:** My so called best friend (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** A birdie told me something

I am REALLY disappointed right now. How come I hear about you and Natsu walking home together from someone else and not from my supposedly best friend herself? And we were on the phone a few minutes ago too. Why didn't you tell me?

And what is this between you and Natsu anyway? I thought you weren't sure if you liked him and now you go and walk home with him. You know that's practically like saying "Yeah, I like you too", right? Don't give him false hopes, that's not cool. He's a good guy, you know. He doesn't deserve that.

But it's probably not my place to say that (anymore). :-(

Your (ex) best friend,

Levy

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Levy-chan (bookworm73)

**Subject:** Who was that birdie?

Don't be silly. Of course you're my best friend! The reason I haven't told you on the phone is cause I knew how you'd react. Not that I can blame you…

I don't even know myself why I asked him to walk me home. It was really weird but… I kinda got a little jealous over some chick asking him out and that just did it.

Sorry for being unreasonable.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Levy (bookworm73)

**To:** Lu-chan (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** That's a secret

Well, if it's like that… I think you're more reasonable than you think you are. ;-)

You kinda leave me no choice but to root for you. It's not that I don't think you'd make a cute couple… I just don't want you or Natsu to get hurt, you know?

Just go for it, Lu-chan. Hook your talons onto his heart. :-D

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Levy-chan (bookworm73)

**Subject:** Meanie!

I'm not an eagle, you know. But thanks, I guess.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Erza Scarlet (titania3824)

**To:** Lucy Heartphilia (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** I'm proud of you

Lucy,

I am very proud of you. You finally became a woman. I, a humble amateur, hope to learn more about dating from you in the future.

I wish you and Natsu a lifetime of happiness and healthy children. And if he does anything to embarrass or even harass you, then don't hesitate to tell me. I'll give him his rightful punishment. It's my duty as the student council president to protect the reputation of an honorable maiden.

Please guide me from now on.

Sincerely,

Your friend Erza

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Erza (titania3824)

**Subject:** You're too formal

Erza, please stop being so formal with me. We're friends, right?

And please don't jump to weird conclusions just because you heard something from… whoever you heard that from. Natsu and I just walked home together, nothing more nothing less. We're not a couple and we're definitely not gonna have children together. If he says otherwise, you may proceed with the rightful punishment.

Just out of curiosity, what do you think a student council president is? A knight or something?

Lucy

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Sir Erza Scarlet (titania3824)

**To:** Lucy Heartphilia (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** I apologize for the misunderstanding

I apologize, Lucy. I seem to have misunderstood the difference between "walking home together" and "dating each other". Please tell me when you're officially dating to avoid further misunderstandings on my part.

To answer your rhetorical question, Mira forwarded an email to me. I hope I haven't invaded your privacy too much.

Of course. I must protect Fairy Academy.

Sincerely,

Your friend Erza

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Erza (titania3824)

**Subject:** You're STILL too formal

So it was Mira… That still doesn't answer where she got it from though.

I don't know if that thing with Natsu and me is ever gonna happen, but sure. But you know, following your advice turned out to be not half bad at all. I think it's a good thing I got to know Natsu a little better, even though we didn't talk that much. So thanks. :-)

PS: Sir Erza? When did that happen?

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Sir Erza Scarlet (titania3824)

**To:** Lucy Heartphilia (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** I'm glad

I'm glad that I could be of help to a friend. Natsu is a fine young man once you get to know him. I'm happy I could help to make you realize that.

I just want to tell you that I have known him since elementary school and I have never seen Natsu so serious about a girl. There are a lot of rumors about him, but I assure you that most of it is not true. He really likes you, Lucy.

Sincerely,

Your friend Erza

PS: I am a knight after all.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Erza (titania3824)

**Subject:** RE: I'm glad

That's good to know, I guess…

But if that's true… then what about that rumor about him and Mira's younger sister? They say she was Natsu's girlfriend before she… you know…

PS: You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. Just forget I asked.

PPS: I'm pretty sure it's not "sir" for girls…

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lady Erza Scarlet (titania3824)

**To:** Lucy Heartphilia (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** RE: I'm glad

I'm sorry, but I don't think it's my place to tell you about Lisanna. You should really ask Natsu about it.

I'm sorry.

Sincerely,

Your friend Erza

PS: Better?

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To:** Squinty eyes (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** Yo

Yo shithead.

How did it go with Lucy? You walked home together, right? How pure. (unf unf unf)

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** The one who's better than you (dragonbreath777)

**To:** Droopy eyes (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject:** None of your business

Read the subject line and shut up, asshole. It's not like I just wanna get into her pants.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** The mighty Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To:** The weaker one (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** RE: None of your business

Ah yeah, I forgot. You're serious this time. Okay, got it. I'm gonna be serious about it, too. Did you get anywhere? And I don't mean near her panties or something. STUPID.

See how serious I am?

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** The Master of Disaster (dragonbreath777)

**To:** The one who falls for my tricks every time (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject:** RE: None of your business

You're really annoying, you know that?

Fine, if it gets you to shut up. NO. We haven't done anything. I just walked her home. End of story.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** The Ladykiller (cold-as-ice6)

**To:** Colonel Ball-Less (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** RE: None of your business

You don't deserve a penis. Even Gajeel could've done better than that.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Colonel More-Balls-Than-You (dragonbreath777)

**To:** The creepy stalker lover (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject:** RE: None of your business

Shut up.

I'm bored, let's go hang out a bit.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** The one who DOES NOT LOVE that stalker girl (cold-as-ice6)

**To:** Girly hair (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** RE: None of your business

Yeah sure, what time?

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** RE: I want details!

All right, I won't email Natsu. Stingy~ :-P

I really won't. Promise.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Elfman (menaremanly1)

**To:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**Bcc:** Nee-chan (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject:** BE A MAN

Natsu, I heard about you and Lucy from nee-chan. I just can't sit by and watch you be this unmanly. A real man knows when a girl wants to go on a date and a real man would have asked her.

BE MANLY AND GO ON A DATE WITH HER.

Reply if you're a man.

It's manly,

Elfman

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To:** Manly idiot (menaremanly1)

**Subject:** What the hell?

Why the hell does everyone know about that?!

And FYI! I didn't know Lucy wanted me to ask her out… Did she say anything about it to Mira? I mean if that's what she wants then we could go hang out anytime.

PS: Half of your email didn't make sense. How do you even come up with crap like that?

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Manly idiot (menaremanly1)

**To:** Not manly idiot (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** DON'T REPLACE MY MANLY SUBJECT LINE

A real man would've sensed it. I don't know the details but the way nee-chan told me it sounded like Lucy was disappointed you didn't do anything manly.

I'm gonna go do something manly now, so be manly by yourself.

PS: IT MAKES SENSE TO MEN. You're not a man right now, so you don't get it.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To:** Manly idiot (menaremanly1)

**Subject:** WHATEVER

I'm a man, damn it! Gimme Lucy's email address!

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Manly idiot (menaremanly1)

**To:** Idiot who's becoming manly again (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** MANLY

That's the spirit. I don't have it though. Ask nee-chan.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject:** I kinda need your help :-)

Hey Mira! Haven't talked to you in a while. What's up? Everything cool?

Anyway, the reason I'm emailing you… Can you give me Lucy's email address? Please please please? :-)

Natsu

PS: Your brother's getting weirder and weirder.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** RE: I kinda need your help :-)

Oh sure! No problem at all, tehee~

I'm sure she'll be very happy when you email her. ;-)

Love,

Mira

PS: He's manly in a weird way.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** Hey!

Hey Luce :-)

In case you're wondering… I asked Mira for your email address. That's okay, right?

I just wanted to say sorry for being weird when we walked home. I just had a lot on my mind so I was a little out there. I don't want you to think I was bored or anything :-)

Hey if you're free tomorrow… there's a movie called Frederick & Yanderika. Wanna go watch it with me? Just as friends of course.

Natsu

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** RE: Hey!

Don't worry, it's okay. I was a little out there myself to be honest, so I didn't really mind. I wasn't bored either…

Sounds like a romantic movie. You sure you wanna watch that? I mean I'll go with you but it's weird to watch a romance with a girl if you're just friends so… I mean we can always watch that dragon movie you talked about this afternoon. I mean if you really want us to go as friends that is…

Okay, now I'm being weird. You really confuse me.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** RE: Hey!

Yeah you're weird. But I like that :-P

Well I thought you'd feel better if we go as friends. But it could be a date if you want… it's okay to watch a romantic movie on a date, right? ;-)

Why are you confused…?

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Levy-chan (bookworm73)

**Subject:** HE EMAILED ME **(Forwarded message attached)**

Natsu emailed me!!!

Help!! COME OVER NOW AND TELL ME WHAT TO REPLY!!!

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Levy (bookworm73)

**To:** Lu-chan (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** You guys are so cute XD

LOL. Relax, Lu-chan. Just breathe in and out. ;-D

Just tell him it's okay to call it a date. You want to, right? DON'T YOU SHAKE YOUR HEAD AND DENY IT NOW, LU. I KNOW YOU WANT TO.

Good girl. Now go and be lovey-dovey with your adorable prey. -D

PS: Don't forget about your talons!

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** RE: Hey!

I guess that would be okay…

:-)

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Levy-chan (bookworm73)

**Subject:** I did it

I told him it's a date. Now I'm embarrassed. I wish I never pressed SEND. Thank you very much.

… I think I really like him after all.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Levy (bookworm73)

**To:** Lu-chan (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** I'm falling in love with your cuteness all over again

I really am~

And you've got to chill. He likes you too, remember? ;-)

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** RE: Hey!

Then it's a date :-)

You took so long to reply that I got a little worried here for a sec. How bout I pick you up in the morning and we go to school together? We can talk about it then.

PS: I'm looking forward to it ;-)

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Levy-chan (bookworm73)

**Subject:** Your last email had an embarrassing subject line

He says he's looking forward to it!!!

I'm so happy right now. He even said he'd pick me up for school tomorrow. :-)

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Levy (bookworm73)

**To:** Lu-chan (celestial-girl)

**Subject:** Sorry about that, but it's true XD

Yay! See, you two are just fine.

BTW, I know I said that I as your best friend want you to tell me everything, but you don't have to keep me up to date about EVERY SINGLE detail. LOL.

I'm going on a date with Gajeel now, so you're on your own. Good luck! :-)

PS: Talons, baby. TALONS.

**.a.a.a.**

**From:** Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Levy-chan (bookworm73)

**Subject:** GAJEEL?!

WHAT THE HELL?! How come this is the first time I hear about this?! What happened to "Best friends tell each other everything", huh?!

I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION AFTER YOUR DATE.

Otherwise, have fun.

PS: Remember your own advice - talons! ;-)

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To:** Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**Subject:** RE: Hey!

That would be nice. I'll see you in the morning then.

PS: I'm looking forward to it too… :-)


	3. Shut Up and Kiss Me

AN: Sheesh, sometimes I'm so fast it scares even myself. So this one's a "real" chapter again. This AU series is perfect for writing fluff and the best thing about is that it leaves so much room for imagination to run wild. I'll surely continue these ficlets, even after the story about Natsu and Lucy is done. Maybe I'll tend to the minor pairings afterwards… I really wanna write about how Gajeel and Levy started dating, too. And about Gray. And Erza. And Loki.

Aaaargh, so much to write and so little time. Let's just see how it goes with Natsu and Lucy first, shall we? Next time will probably be Mail Madness again. And… with Juvia! I already have several ideas…

Set some time after the events of the school omake.

Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, Gajeel would have more screen time.

**Honey, Honey**

**Chapter 3: **Dating Madness

_No new emails received._

Lucy gave a deep sigh, logging her computer off. She was bored beyond belief and today was such a beautiful Saturday, too. Levy was out on a date with Gajeel (Lucy was still not entirely used to that), Mirajane was on her part-time job and Erza was studying 'like a good child is supposed to'. And Natsu…

She didn't hear from him the whole day.

They weren't a couple or anything (yet), but it was still weird. Usually, he'd call her or email her whenever he had time. And after they had walked to school and back home every day, going on one date and a half (don't get her started on this one) nonetheless… Well, it was a little confusing for her.

Not that they had done anything on that one and a half date. He didn't put his arm around her when they were watching that ultra sappy movie _Frederick & Yanderika_. Of course, he didn't kiss her either, not even a peck on the cheek or anything. He _almost_ held her hand, but then Mirajane called her and the moment was ruined. They said their awkward goodbyes in front of her house and that was it.

As for that half date two days later… She was _not_ getting started on that.

Well, at least Lucy had stopped checking her emails almost every two minutes. Although she kinda felt the urge to log on once more… She gave another sigh. It was really tough liking such a frustrating guy.

Suddenly, there was a soft _'toc'_ on her window.

Lucy turned around, arching a brow in bewilderment. What the heck was that?

Then a tiny rock flew right through the other side of the window that she had left open for the warm summer breeze to enlighten her room. Lucy stared at it lying on her yellow carpet for a moment, before it finally hit her. The first thing she saw when she looked outside her window was blinding sunlight and a flash of something pink.

Her jaw unconsciously dropped when she saw Natsu grinning up at her, standing on the brick wall in front of their yard and energetically waving at her.

_What's that idiot doing?!_

"Hiya, Luce!" he called up at her, loud enough for the whole street to hear. "Are you busy right now?"

Lucy felt her cheeks heat up, praying her father wouldn't see him. "N-not really."

Natsu's eyes started to sparkle. "Good! Then get dressed and come down here!"

"Huh?" she sputtered, gawking at him blankly.

His grin widened, if that was at all possible. "Surprise date!" Then he held up two tickets to an amusement park like a trophy.

Lucy couldn't help a smile, cheeks as pink as his hair. Seems like he just saved her day, once again.

"I'll be down in a sec."

**.a.a.a.**

One hour later, Natsu wasn't as energetic anymore as at the start of their so called 'Surprise Date'. To be more frank, he was pale as ashes, almost a little green-ish, as they walked along a street inside Magnolia Funpark. He was a little wobbly on his feet, too.

"So you get motion sick," Lucy stated, slightly amused.

Natsu nodded miserably. "Sorry. I kinda forgot I get sick on Ferris wheels, too."

Lucy covered her grin with a hand. He really was a weird guy. And the more time they spent together, the weirder he got. Natsu always said she was the weird one, so she guessed that was okay. But really, if you got sick on a Ferris wheel, then you really have it bad.

"Don't worry about it," she told him, smiling her sweetest smile. "It's not like going on a ride is all we can do in an amusement park. We could grab a bite to eat for now."

"I don't think I can eat right now…"

Lucy stuck out her tongue. "Well, that's a first."

She giggled when Natsu gently flicked her forehead as a punishment. Inwardly, she sighed though. Something told her this might be the most body contact she would get from him today. Honestly, she had no idea what was wrong with the guy. Their hands were so close that they lightly bumped from time to time, the amusement park was packed at this time of day, so it would be pretty natural to hold hands right now.

Yet Natsu did absolutely _nothing_.

He didn't even try. It left her wondering if there was something wrong with her. After all, he did say he liked her. So why would he not want to hold her hand? Or kiss her? Or _something_ at least. She really didn't get it.

Lucy scowled at the ground, cheeks flushing. Seriously, if you want something done, then do it yourself.

In her mind, she cursed her hand for trembling so much when she reached up to softly grab his sleeve. He turned to look at her in bewilderment, probably wondering if something was wrong, and Lucy carefully avoided eye-contact as she inched a little closer to Natsu.

"I-it's pretty crowded," she sputtered weakly, feeling a little faint.

She finally found the courage to glance up at him to make out his expression, but Natsu had already turned away, the slightest blush on his cheeks. Or was that just her imagination?

The next moment he plucked her hand from his sleeve, and then surprised her with something unexpected: He didn't let go. They were _actually_ holding hands. Natsu scratched his neck, looking in the opposite direction while Lucy blushed even more if that was possible.

"We won't lose each other like this, right?" he murmured sheepishly.

Lucy smiled at the ground. "Mh-hm."

That moment she found out that Natsu had the warmest hands in the world.

**.a.a.a.**

Two hours later, Lucy began wondering if the reason she was so frustrated with Natsu not trying anything (unless she pointed him right at it like with the holding hands thing) had something to do with all those rumors going on about him.

Sure, she knew most of those rumors were complete lies. But she also knew that some of them were true. Heck, she caught a _live example_ just two weeks ago when that chick asked Natsu about 'not playing anymore', that time at the lockers. Natsu wasn't half as innocent as he thought he was. He must have had girlfriends, he did do _stuff_ with them – he just didn't do it with Lucy.

The big question was _why_.

Lucy thought it couldn't hurt to ask. Not bluntly of course, just an indirect nudge…

"So how many girlfriends did you have?"

_Nice one, Lucy you idiot._

Natsu arched a brow and looked up at her as he lay in the grass of the small park inside Magnolia Funpark. Lucy was sitting next to him, trying to hold his stare and not look too embarrassed while at it. It seemed to work, because the next moment he looked away with a frown, uncomfortably running a hand through his salmon colored hair.

"Does it really matter?" he mumbled.

Lucy knitted her brows at him. "Of course it matters," she sputtered angrily. "I mean, I've heard several rumors and I _know_ you're not a complete dating noob… So I'm a little confused, since… y-you're so different with me. Which is weird since we're almost a…"

She flushed crimson at what she had almost blurted out and the warmth in her cheeks increased when he raised his eyebrows in surprise, a small smirk on his lips.

"Almost a what?"

He was so frustrating.

"I-I mean what is up with that?" she quickly said as annoyed as possible, waving it off. "You can just tell me if there's something wrong with me or anything…" She was prepared for the worst right now.

"Luce, I've never seriously gone out with anybody before."

…Except for that.

Lucy's eyes widened blankly. "…Huh?"

"I've never been serious," Natsu told her, smiling sheepishly. "There were one or two girls, but it never really clicked. I think the reason for that is that I always go and rush things until there's very little to no excitement left. That's where you're different."

"O-oh really," she said, trying stop her rapidly thumping heart.

He shrugged, looking up at the sky. "With you it's like… Dunno, every time I think I should do something, there's someone in my head telling me it's too soon. I don't wanna mess it up with you, ya know."

He offered her wide grin and Lucy's heart skipped a beat.

"Cause I really like you."

She was sure her face was ten different shades of crimson right now, so she quickly looked away, resting her arms on her pulled up knees and hiding her face with her hair. That guy was so confusing and so damn adorable.

"I-idiot," she mumbled faintly. "You should really listen to your gut feeling more often."

When she heard grass rustling, she carefully turned her head just to be left breathless when she found herself facing a very serious looking Natsu, close enough to feel the warmth of his body. Lucy trembled inwardly when he reached up and gently brushed a lock of golden hair behind her ear, her heart threatening to jump right out of her chest.

"I thought it was too soon to kiss you," he said. "Was I wrong?"

Lucy gulped, praying she wouldn't faint. She couldn't blame him, though. With what she had said to him it sounded like she had practically _begged_ him to kiss her. Of course she _did_ want him to kiss her, but she was way too nervous. What if she tasted weird? What if her lips weren't soft enough?

What if she wasn't a good kisser?!

Her thoughts came to an abrupt end when he slowly leaned in and she felt her eyes flutter close almost naturally. It didn't really matter, as long as she _finally_ got that kiss. She unconsciously inched closer and when she was sure they were almost there…

"Hey, silly couple!"

They broke apart as if they just touched a dangerously poisonous plant, flushing crimson as Loki's shadow fell upon them. He was grinning down at them like the sly idiot he was, probably amused that he had caught them red-handed. Lucy half-expected him to be pondering who'd be the first he was going to tell this to. Somewhere behind him, she could make out two of his followers from the Loki-Fanclub giggling at their misfortune.

And who was a silly couple anyway?!

Loki winked at them mischievously. "Hasn't anybody told you that making out in public is indecent?"

"We weren't making out!" Lucy shrieked.

"So close," Natsu mumbled, sulking in disappointment.

Lucy's eyes widened horrified. "Oh my god, what are you saying!? It's a lie! I vigorously deny everything!"

Loki stared at her. "There are love hotels for that kinda stuff, you know."

"Oh god, shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!"

Those dumb chicks that Loki brought were laughing loudly by now.

**.a.a.a.**

"He was just kidding, ya know," Natsu murmured a bit bashfully. He quickly shut up when Lucy glared viciously at him.

It wouldn't have been half that bad if Loki wasn't such a damn chatterbox. Honestly, when it was about gossip, that guy was almost as bad as any girl. There went Lucy's innocent reputation. From now on, she would be 'that girl, you know', 'ah, the one who made out with that Yankee in the park', 'no, I heard it was in front of a love hotel' and 'oooh, I bet she's easy'.

And she worked so hard for her school image, too.

Lucy sighed, sheepishly glancing up at Natsu who was walking next to her, looking pretty flustered. The poor guy had done nothing wrong, yet she vented her anger all upon him. If anything, he had a reason to be mad, too. After all, that darn Loki had ruined their attempt on their first…

_Oh god, we almost kissed_, she suddenly realized, her cheeks rapidly heating up. She didn't have time to panic about it, though.

"Hey Luce…" Natsu mumbled at the ground.

Lucy flinched, eyes wide. "Y-yes!"

"Do you like me?"

She whirled around to him in shock, noticing he had stopped walking and was staring solemnly at her. There it was again, that same serious expression that had her knees melt every time she saw it. And even now, the effect didn't fail its target. But right now, she kind of felt the urge to slap him for asking her such an unnecessary, obvious, stupid thing.

He was such a frustrating guy to like.

"Th-that," she finally sputtered, cheeks flushed, "Is not the question you should be asking me."

Natsu's expression clearly said 'pure confusion'. "Huh?"

He didn't get it. He seriously didn't get it. Then again, of course he didn't get it, this was Natsu. Lucy sighed, offering him a small smile that confused him even more.

"Use your head, Natsu."

"Okay."

Lucy didn't have even a second to grasp what was happening when Natsu lowered his head and pressed his lips firmly against hers. The kiss was over before she could think of responding or hitting him or anything at all. Soon he was grinning boyishly at her, his cheeks as pink as his hair while Lucy's mouth opened and closed in utter shock.

He chuckled at her expression. "It was your idea."

That moment Lucy learned that when you gave Natsu a finger he'd always take the whole hand.

**.a.a.a.**

When Lucy got home, she was tired, very flustered and still very, very frustrated.

She momentarily wondered if she should call Levy to brainstorm over all the things that happened and to complain a bit about Natsu's bluntness, stupidity and… other stuff. But knowing Levy, she was probably still out with Gajeel and only god knew when those two would be home on a Saturday. She shuddered at the thought of what they might be doing right now.

So she settled for going to sleep. It was a long day and she definitely had some thinking to do. At least, she thought she could sleep, before her cell phone beeped very loudly.

Lucy almost jumped out of her skin, tapping away until she read a message that made her bury her face in her pillows.

**From:** Natsu  
08/04 22:15 p.m.  
Is the question I should be asking you something like 'Will you go out with me'…?

She took a deep breath before she typed her reply.

_Depends on whether you're actually asking me._

Lucy spent the next few minutes biting her nails, staring at her display as if she was trying to hypnotize it and wondering if she just made a fool out of herself, and damn it. And then finally a loud _beep_ saved her from her thoughts.

**From:** Natsu  
08/04 22:28 p.m.  
I'm asking you.

She felt a crimson blush on her face as she flopped down on her pillow. Her hand trembled when she typed her simple answer.

**.a.a.a.**

Natsu grinned his most goofy grin as he stared at his display, reading it over and over. These two words were now officially the most awesome words on the planet.

**From:** Lucy  
08/04 22:34 p.m.  
Then yes.


	4. Ghost Buster

**AN: **This one turned out to be pretty long, huh. But I really needed to get this on paper, and quickly. I intended it to be a one shot set in the usual Fairy Tail universe, but I figured this would work way better. I'm not gonna tell you why, because it would give too much away of the story, which if I do say so myself will be a lot of fun to read. At least I really like it. Probably more than anything I've written for them. But judge yourself.

I know I promised this chapter would be mail madness again, but I needed to squeeze this in between. So next chapter will definitely be the second part of mail madness (with Juvia and Gajeel!) and it'll also be the chapter that starts to slowly take the focus away from Natsu and Lucy and towards another couple. But we'll see.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure last time I checked I wasn't a successful mangaka. And if I was, would I really be writing fanfiction?

**Honey, Honey**

**Chapter 4: **Ghost Madness

The Heartphilia residence was _humongous_. Lucy had never realized it this painfully before.

It was a mansion with three floors, one huge living room, two dining rooms, two offices, five bedrooms and ten bathrooms. Not to mention the kitchen, the big foyer, and the garden that went on for another few yards. Usually, the house was full of people, even though Lucy hardly ever saw her father around. There were cooks and housemaids, gardeners and butlers, so she never really felt that the house was too big for only two people.

Not until now.

This night was different. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary that her father was working through the whole night and only came in the morning, but today even all of their employees had the night off. No cooks, no housemaids, no gardeners and no butlers were still here. There was that one guard at the front gate, but he was so damn far away that it didn't really count.

To sum it up: Lucy was all alone – _totally alone_ – in a humongous mansion.

Okay, that might not sound that bad at first. But this house wasn't only huge, it was also _old_. Really, really old. Like, seventeenth-century-old. It made all kinds of _noises_, not very pleasant ones, like randomly creaking stairs, something bumping and groaning from time to time. And damn it, did that big tree in front of her window always look this menacing?

Lucy hesitantly peaked out from beneath her covers, trembling all over. She had built her sheets around her like a cocoon to have at least a little feeling of safety. It didn't help even one tiny bit. Neither did switching on the TV. The house was still creaking, bumping and groaning and the tree still looked menacing.

Dear lord, Lucy was scared to death. To _death._

This was ridiculous. She was a seventeen year old girl, almost a grown-up woman. How could she still be scared when she was at home alone? It wasn't like that guard at the front gate was totally incapable of watching the house. There was no way a burglar could break in. Except when he came from the backyard. But the guard did make his rounds to make sure that didn't happen. Unless this house had a poltergeist or something, she was safe.

Lucy whimpered when a very ghost-like groan came from just outside her room. That was the wind. Just the wind. It was autumn after all, and it had been a very windy day. There was no way something like ghosts existed. This was ridiculous.

Then why the hell did she feel like something else was inside her room?

Oh god, she was being way too paranoid. Lucy took a deep breath, careful not to be too loud (you know, just in case), and tried to calm herself down. It worked pretty well and she felt her racing heart slow down more and more. That was until someone on TV let out an ear-piercing scream and Lucy almost cried out herself, but thankfully managed to muffle her scream with her hand.

She sobbed quietly into her palm, cursing Levy over and over again. And of course Mira and Erza, too. She really wished they were here right now. She had planned for them to have a sleep over, but in the end she had been too proud to admit she was scared of staying at home alone. Damn herself for always trying to show some courage in front of her friends, since she obviously lacked it.

Oh god, she could swear there was something standing right beside her bed.

She felt it. She really, really felt the presence of something. Something creaked, and Lucy realized in shock that she was already crying a little. She was scared. She was so damn scared.

Lucy decided this wasn't the time to be stupidly proud. Her hands gripped tightly around her cell phone that she had taken under the covers with her to have some light, and quickly flipped through her phone book to the only number she wanted to call right now. There was no time for thinking; honestly speaking she wasn't even able to form a coherent thought anyway. She dialed the number by intuition and prayed to god that he wasn't asleep yet. And if he was, please let this call wake him up.

_Please, please, please, please, please_, she mouthed voicelessly and in sync with every beep she heard until it finally stopped beeping, and in that moment, her breath caught for a second.

"Yeah?" His voice sounded even raspier than usual. So he had been sleeping after all.

Lucy vainly tried to suppress a sob. "N-Natsu," she whispered as quiet as possible, her voice trembling.

"Luce? What the…" A short pause. Then, "It's two in the morning."

"I-I know," she whispered back, "I'm really sorry to call you at this time, but… Uh, I-I was wondering if y-you could…"

She thought she could make out that he just sat up straight in his bed. "Hey, you're crying, aren't you? What's wrong?"

Lucy bit her lower lip. She'd really rather not talk so much, seeing how by now she was practically convinced that there was a ghost in her room, either standing beside her bed, hiding under it or waiting in her closet. And who knows how many ghost friends that guy had who were all haunting different areas of the house. And only god knew what would happen if that ghost found out she was in fact in the room. Of course, anyone could guess that there was a person hiding in the sheet-cocoon, but Lucy was way too scared to be sane.

Before her courage could betray her, she squeezed her eyes shut and all but whimpered, "Y-you've gotta come, Natsu. Right now. Please, please, please."

"What the hell happened? Did someone hurt you? I swear that bastard won't live to see the next day-"

"There's a ghost in my room," she sobbed before she could stop herself. She regretted saying it not even a split second after.

Natsu was silent. For a long, long time. He was probably wondering what kind of answer would not have her flip out completely, but seeing as this was Natsu after all, he was at a loss even after a whole minute. So he only gave a deep sigh that quickly turned into a long yawn.

"Listen," he mumbled sleepily, "It's damn late and we have school tomorrow. And I wanna get up a little earlier to put up my newest trap for that stupid Gray, so-"

"You're not taking me seriously!"

"Look, whatever you think you're seeing or I dunno, stuff you're imagining right now, just stop thinking about it and go back to sleep. I'm sure that nightmare was nasty, but it was just a dream, okay?"

Lucy was on the brink of both despair and anger. "Natsu Dragneel," she hissed. "Do I sound like I could possibly have been asleep at any time? Th-this isn't a joke, damn it."

He paused for another bit. "You're telling me there actually is a ghost in your room."

"Yes!"

"Did you see it?"

"Of course not! I'm too scared to look!"

"Then you're probably just imagining it," he said with a yawn. "There are no ghosts, you know that. Just try to sleep."

Lucy sniffed her tears away, eyes narrowing in indignant anger. "F-fine!" she sputtered weakly into the phone, "I don't need you to come anymore! You obviously don't care about your girlfriend!"

"Huh? What the hell are you-"

"Goodbye!"

One click and he was gone, leaving her with the ghost and her ridiculous fear. She knew it wasn't fair to accuse him of not caring about her, after all he was always looking out for her. But she was scared, even if it was unreasonable, and she really needed him right now. She needed her boyfriend to be with her and scare away whatever ghost was looking to curse her and everything in here. She really wanted Natsu to be here right now.

Lucy gave another quiet sob, tightening the covers around her until she was almost only breathing her own breath back in. The presence in her room was still there, she still heard it groan and she thought she even heard it pant and gasp in a very real way. Her eyes were wide open, sweat covered her face from both the fear and the heat beneath the covers. She couldn't even _think_ of sleeping. Even when she tried to think of something else it just wouldn't work. She kept reminding herself of the ghost or whatever it was.

She stared at the clock on her cell phone like in some kind of trance, watched the time fly by slowly, maybe even slower than usually. Or so it felt to her. She prayed that it would soon be morning, but it was only half past two. Still three and a half more hours to go until sunrise. And then she would really give Natsu a piece of her mind.

About five minutes later, the ghost finally took action. The noise he made came from a little farer away, so she guessed it must have moved from her bed to the closet or window. Lucy grew as stiff as stone as she held her breath and listened intently to what it was up to. Her mind was racing, her heart thumping wildly, and then something bumped on the ground and her floor creaked, as if the ghost had jumped up and down.

And then something happened that proved her she wasn't insane. It wasn't ridiculous anymore. She heard steps. _Steps_, for god's sake. She felt them, oh my god, the ghost was walking. It was walking towards her bed, and it was real, she wasn't imagining it. This was the painfully frightening reality, there was a real-life ghost in her room, and it was coming for her.

Lucy felt her eyes water up in fear as the steps stopped right before her bed. She knew that her whole cocoon must be trembling pretty badly by now, but she didn't care. It was too late now. It was all over, so why struggle?

She clutched her hands over her face the same moment that the ghost ripped the covers off of her, and then she screamed as loudly as she could, hoping to scare it away somehow.

"Please don't!" she whimpered helplessly. "Don't kill me, Mr. Ghost! I swear I'll help you reach the afterlife, so please don't harm me!"

"What the hell are you saying, you freak?"

It wasn't a very nice ghost, but then again, of course it wasn't nice. It was a ghost after all, and he surely held a grudge against the residents of this house, which included her. It also didn't help that the ghost's voice sounded awfully similar to Natsu's, this was even worse. Now she would be killed by someone who sounded like her stupid boyfriend. The same stupid boyfriend that she would never see again. Oh, this wasn't fair. There was so much she still wanted to do with her life. She wanted to write a book, and get married (maybe to Natsu), and have children (maybe with Natsu) and…

Oh my god, she was going to die as a virgin.

The ghost gave a very Natsu-esque snicker and Lucy realized she had said that out loud. "Whenever you're ready, Luce."

Oh no, she was definitely not going to let a ghost do it with her! And who the hell did that thing think it was for using Natsu's nickname for her? And laugh like Natsu? And on top of all…

Wait a second.

Lucy carefully peeked through her fingers and spotted salmon colored hair. Gulping, she slowly removed her hands from her face and there was Natsu, grinning down upon her mischievously, arms crossed in front of his chest. Lucy kind of preferred being killed by the ghost right now as her face flushed ten different shades of red.

"Natsu," she said flatly, somewhat disbelieving.

Natsu gave another laugh. "You know, you look like you saw a ghost."

Lucy's brows knitted up in frustration as she grabbed for her pillow and threw it right in his face. "That's not funny, you imbecile! I really thought I was gonna die tonight!"

He was still snickering quietly to himself when the pillow dropped into his hands, rolling his eyes at his girlfriend. "That's what I'm here for, right?" he said with a proud smile. "To protect you from the ghost."

Lucy stared up at him speechlessly for while. It was only then that she realized that Natsu actually came here. He was here, protecting her from harm even though he knew she was being totally and entirely unreasonable. It was almost three in the morning, they had school tomorrow, and her stupid, weird, maddening boyfriend actually came all the way across town for _her_. For some reason, her eyes felt itchy with tears again, be it from relief or whatever, and she really, really wanted to hug him right now.

Her plan backfired because of her cocoon and she landed face-first on the ground.

"Whoa, you okay there?" Natsu exclaimed as he kneeled down to help her untangle herself from the sheets.

"Yeah," Lucy mumbled sheepishly, cheeks turning rosy.

Damn it, now the moment for a teary thank you hug was ruined. And did that guy seriously climb through her window or something? It was at least twenty feet up, that was super dangerous. Not to mention that their stupid guard was no good, seeing how Natsu had gotten in so easily. So much for her father's proclaimed 'total safety'. Bullshit.

Lucy immediately paled and froze stiff when a sharp scream filled the room.

Natsu looked over at the TV, and then frowned down at Lucy. "Why the hell are you watching a horror movie? No wonder you're scared."

She avoided his eyes, cheeks still pink. "Th-the remote is on my desk. I was too scared to get it," she mumbled.

"Pfft. You're really weird."

"Sh-shut up!"

"But I think it's kinda cute." Natsu offered her a toothy grin. "Now I can be the hero who saves you. Every guy wants to do that at least once."

Lucy couldn't help but smile slightly. This guy could be so adorable that it was almost from outer space, seeing how he behaved in school. This delinquent who quarreled and fought with the guys whenever they gave him a strange look was actually a gentle and incredibly good guy who treated her like a princess. Natsu was the kind of guy her late mother had always wanted her to find.

She watched Natsu stand up and walk to the window where he picked something up. "Of course I didn't come unprepared. I brought a baseball bat to beat the ghost to a pulp." Lucy gawked in disbelief, and he rolled his eyes at her expression. "I know that you can't really do any physical damage to a ghost with just a bat. That's why I put some water on it."

Lucy's expression didn't change. "Water?"

"Of course. Water is supposed to make it holy or something, right?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, fighting the urge to face-palm. "If it's _holy water_."

Natsu looked confused. "Where's the difference?"

"It won't work with _just_ water. I think you need a priest to make it holy." Natsu still looked pretty lost, so Lucy sighed, waving it off. "You know what, maybe it'll work this way, too."

The moment she had finished speaking, a terribly loud crash filled the air and Lucy almost jumped out of her skin. Instead she jumped right back beneath her covers with a high-pitched scream, enveloping herself with her sheets like some kind of nun. Shivering all over, she inched closer to Natsu whose eyes were just as big as hers, his mouth limply hanging open.

"Wh-what was that?" Lucy squeaked anxiously.

"It came from downstairs, right?" Natsu mumbled puzzled, still wide-eyed. "Uhm, do you have a cat or something? Or maybe Happy followed me here…"

Lucy grabbed his shoulders and starting to shake him desperately. "Be reasonable, you idiot! It's the ghost! The ghost!"

Natsu thought it was better not to tell her that _he_ probably had the more reasonable explanation here. He didn't really believe in things like ghosts and spirits. Well, spirits maybe. They were really cool after all, that is if they existed. But ghosts were just mean and nasty, especially a poltergeist. Except that he didn't really care _what_ it was right now. No matter if poltergeist or spirit, he was damn glad it was here. After all, it made Lucy depend on him this much and plus, she was just so darn cute right now. Not that she wasn't cute enough already even without poltergeists around.

Like on cue, something outside in the hallways groaned and Lucy whimpered, shifting even closer to him. He inwardly thanked whatever ghost there was in this house.

For some reason, Natsu felt himself grin in excitement as he gripped the bat tightly. "All right, it's show time. Natsu the ghost slayer will take care of this."

"I-I'm coming with you," Lucy stuttered timidly, grabbing his arm. "I'm definitely not gonna stay alone in my room."

"Of course you're coming. How can I protect you when you're not even there?" He flashed her a lopsided grin and Lucy blushed.

When Natsu opened the door to the hallway, she shivered slightly as cold air filled her room. Of course it was cold out there; there was a ghost after all. It was always cold with ghosts around, at least in all movies and books it always was. Lucy's heart was beating fast and painfully in her chest. It was pitch-black outside, she could only make out the outlines of their hallways furniture and parts of the stairs. She briefly wondered if they had always looked this old and scary. Her grip around Natsu's arm grew even tighter, until she was half-sure she was hurting him, but he didn't make a sound. She was so damn glad he was here.

Natsu lead the way, with Lucy following close behind him, bat held high in position. Lucy's eyes flitted across the house, left and right, although she wasn't entirely sure if she even wanted to _see_ the ghost at all. That was when she heard it from downstairs. Groaning, panting, and it sounded like whatever made those sounds was in pain. This wasn't the wind anymore. This sounded almost _human._ It was there, it was undoubtedly, completely down there, waiting for them.

"Okay, here we go," Natsu whispered calmly. If he was scared too, he did a great job of not showing it even one bit.

Lucy nodded and they began to slowly walk down the stairs. She kept throwing glances behind them to make sure the ghost didn't appear there out of nowhere, which ghosts naturally really loved to do from time to time. The volume of the groans of pain increased with every step they took towards the foyer and by the time they reached the last stair, Lucy could swear she was terribly close to wetting her pants from fear.

The groans seemed to come from the living room that had a door-less, wide opening to the foyer. She shot Natsu a quick glance the same moment he gulped slightly, and Lucy's heart immediately sunk into her feet. It was pretty obvious that by now even Natsu was almost convinced that there was _something_ in the living room. The noises it made were unmistakably ghostly.

Something clanged and rattled, and a loud moan filled the room as the floor creaked. Lucy held her breath when she realized she heard steps again, even if there were many random pauses between them, like the ghost was stumbling or something. But it was obviously, very certainly walking in their direction. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face against Natsu's arm.

"Oh god, it's there. It's there, it's coming," she whimpered into his sleeve.

Natsu was staring into the pitch-black darkness of the living room, his adrenaline was brewing. He raised his baseball bat, ready to beat whatever it was that would show itself any moment now. His palms felt sweaty in anticipation as he moved his fingers nervously to get a better grip on the wood. He felt Lucy tremble and press up closer against him, which made it harder to focus on what was going on in front of him. Damn it, he had to stop thinking about how soft she felt.

But all his thoughts came to an abrupt halt as a figure came into view, wrapped in the stereotype blanket and… damn it, that thing was glowing!

Lucy abruptly stopped breathing and Natsu's eyes widened to the size of plates. "Holy shit," he ground out, frozen stiff.

The ghost-like figure came stumbling in their direction, groaning in pain, and then Lucy finally snapped out of her state of horror and shock to give a terrified scream that had Natsu's ears ringing.

"I-it's here! Do something, Natsu!" she cried out desperately, shaking him frantically.

That was when Natsu finally took action. "Take this, you damn ghost-bastard!" he exclaimed when the ghost was right in front of them, and gave the thing a positive knock-out hit with the bat.

"UNGH!"

The ghost fell to the ground with a loud moan of pain, clutching his stomach where Natsu had hit him. Lucy and Natsu watched in shock as the figure wriggled and squirmed, until the blanket started shifting and revealed the huddled form of a chubby man. His torch light fell from his hand and rolled to Lucy's feet, but even then it took some moments for the couple to read the situation. Lucy's mouth hung open in total bewilderment for a full minute, until she realized who exactly this was.

"It's our guard!"

"Huh?" Natsu said intelligently, watching in puzzlement as Lucy flitted across the room and kneeled down beside the little man.

"Oh god, we're so sorry. We thought you were a ghost-uh, burglar," she sputtered nervously, helping the confused man stand up. "Are you alright?"

The guard of the Heartphilia household was still clutching his stomach. "Yeah, I'm okay. So sorry, Miss Lucy, if I scared you. I heard you scream, so I came running, but I stumbled over a chair in the darkness and to have hold I grabbed the curtains, and… well, you know the rest," he said sheepishly, scratching his head.

Natsu gave a laugh. "That makes _so_ much more sense than what Lucy thought."

"You shut up!" Lucy snapped, cheeks pink from embarrassment. "I know you were convinced at some point, too!"

"That's a lie! I knew there had to be an explanation!"

"Oh please, who are you kidding?"

The guard man smiled uncertainly. "Well, since there's no problem, I should probably return to my spot. Good night, Miss Lucy."

Lucy smiled at him. "Oh yeah, thank you. And uhm…" A deep blush covered her face as she nudged her fingers together. "Could you please not tell my father that uhm… you know…"

The chubby guard raised his brows, looking from Lucy back to Natsu, and then winked at her. "I haven't seen a thing, Miss," he said.

Lucy grinned brightly at him while Natsu just arched a brow in confusion. The guard picked up his torch light and made his way out through the back door where he had come from, leaving the couple once again alone in the darkness. But funny enough, Lucy didn't mind the darkness so much as she did before. Maybe because her eyes had gotten used to it by now, but maybe also a bit because now that the excitement was over, she realized that she wasn't just alone in a giant dark mansion anymore. She was alone in a giant dark mansion with _Natsu_.

The very same Natsu was running a hand through his salmon hair, grinning uneasily at her. "Looks like my heroic moment was a fluke."

Lucy smiled warmly at him as she came a little closer. "Even then you were pretty cool, you know," she said softly, looking up at him and slightly cocking her head. "And I'm really, really glad you came. So thank you, Natsu."

"Hey, I couldn't leave my girlfriend alone, right?" he smirked teasingly. "That would've been such an unmanly thing to do."

"You've been hanging around Elfman too much," Lucy giggled, trying to ignore the blush that started spreading on her cheeks when he had said girlfriend. That still happened every time, damn it.

Natsu grimaced. "Yeah, I just heard it myself."

She looked down at her bare feet, suddenly feeling pretty nervous. Her cheeks were still warm, maybe just because she felt really protected and safe with him, even if there hadn't been a ghost in the first place. And for some reason, she still didn't want him to go. She wanted him to stay, not because she was still scared. Not to make sure she wasn't going to die as a virgin either, there was still time for that. Just to be with him a little more. If he wanted to, that is. He kind of answered that question the next moment.

"I guess I should get going then," he mumbled, somewhat unsure.

Lucy looked up, saw him shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, and then quickly looked back down. She really didn't want him to leave just yet. It was pretty late, probably three in the morning or even later, so who knows what creeps there were in the streets right now. It would be totally reckless to let him walk home at this kind of hour. No, as a dutiful citizen she couldn't let him do that. That was all this was. She was just being helpful.

So she uttered, "Or you could just sleep here."

Natsu's head shot up, eyes wide in shock, and Lucy's face flushed when she realized that of course he, a healthy young guy, would automatically think about _that_.

"Y-you can sleep on my couch," she sputtered quickly. "It's pretty late, your house is across town and you're probably pretty tired, and… D-don't get any weird ideas, idiot!"

He flashed her a teasing grin. "Aren't you the one with the weird ideas?"

"Do you want to or not?" Lucy snapped impatiently, cheeks flushed in frustration.

Natsu stared at her in disbelief for a while. He had probably thought she was just joking and only now realized that she was totally and entirely serious about it. Lucy avoided his eyes, brows knitted up, and cheeks pink. She was so darn cute right now that he couldn't have said no even if he wanted to. Of course he wanted to stay, what kind of question was that? There wasn't a guy in the world who would decline a sleepover with the girl of his dreams.

Especially not Natsu. And especially not if it was Lucy who asked.

"I probably should. You know, just in case you get scared again," he mumbled a lot more nervous than he wanted to.

Lucy quickly nodded. "Yeah, exactly. That's a good reason."

"Okay, let me just mail my dad that I'm at your place."

"Right, or else he'll get worried." She watched Natsu take out his cell phone and that was when it hit her. "W-wait, you're gonna tell your father you're staying at a _girl's_ place?"

Natsu looked at her like she was an idiot. "Not just any girl's place. _Your_ place."

"Y-you mean your dad knows about me?" Lucy squeaked.

"Of course he does," he grinned. "I've told him all about you. You're the first girl I really love after all."

Lucy immediately shut up, eyes as big as plates and cheeks crimson. He just said _love_, didn't he? Not like, but _love_. Something inside her squealed like a ten year old elementary school kid meeting the rock star she adored. But as she watched him happily typing away on his cell phone, she quickly came back to earth. Damn it, did that guy _always_ confess in such a nonchalant way? It was the same thing like four months ago in the school yard. He said it like a natural, every day thing, not embarrassed in the slightest. God, he was so frustrating sometimes.

But oh no, not with Lucy. She would confess her undying love for him in such a romantic way that he was going to be dizzy from it even weeks later. She had read enough romantic novels to know all about vows of love, so it shouldn't be that hard.

"Natsu?" she said with her sweetest voice and most dazzling smile.

Natsu looked up at her. "Hn?"

And just like that, her courage left her body like a ghost. It didn't help that his cell phone just beeped either. Her cheeks felt like an oven as she squeezed her eyes shut, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"I… I lo-"

"Holy crap!" Natsu suddenly cried out.

Lucy was totally taken aback. "Wh-what's wrong?"

"My dad knocked over some of my fire crackers when he was cooking milk and that set half of the kitchen on fire! Shit, he's really gonna have my ass for this!"

"You… you store fire crackers in the kitchen?" Lucy asked slowly. This had got to be one of the dumbest things she had ever heard.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "I forgot them there when I made a pizza. They're for the trap tomorrow, you know, the one for Gray."

"Oh," was all she said. That wasn't less stupid.

"Sorry Luce, I should really go home now, before he gets even more pissed," he said, and he honestly looked pretty bummed. "He said Happy's tail got something, too. I wanna make sure they're both okay…"

Lucy couldn't say she wasn't a little disappointed. She could have vividly imagined how the night would maybe play out, and she wouldn't have said no on a second thought. And it wasn't like this occasion would occur again anytime soon. But she guessed it couldn't be helped. Natsu was a weird guy, so was his dad apparently (if the name Igneel wasn't weird enough already), and even Happy, Natsu's cat, was weird (but only because Natsu painted him blue). She wasn't really surprised that their family emergencies were equally weird.

So she sighed and waved it off. "I get it. It's not like we had anything planned or something…" Well, at least _he_ hadn't.

Natsu grinned and leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek. "You're the best, Luce," he said as he turned to leave.

Lucy quickly grabbed his sleeve. "Wait. You forgot something."

"Oh yeah? What?"

Before she could change her mind, she tugged him down to her level and pressed her lips against his. The kiss was short and sweet and probably the first one she had ever initiated herself, and when it was over she quickly looked away to avoid his eyes, face flushed and heart racing even more than it had when she had been scared of that not-so-much-ghost earlier.

"Thanks again. And come pick me up at six for school," she sputtered, blushing even more. "A-and I love you."

When she looked up, Natsu was beaming at her. Before she could say anything more, he had already cupped her face and leaned down to capture her lips once more. This one was longer, more passionate, with tongue and everything, and it had Lucy's mind swirling all while her knees went weak. She was panting when Natsu broke the kiss, and her tummy did a little summersault when he gave her a kiss on her nose.

Then he smiled widely at her. "My dad said he really wants to meet you. Wanna come by tomorrow after school?"

Lucy smiled back softly. "I'd like that."

"Great! Happy really misses you, you know."

"I sincerly doubt that. He's a cat," she giggled.

"He's a _smart_ cat."

"Sure, sure."

"Oh yeah!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed. "I should probably meet your father too, right?"

Lucy's face darkened. "Let's not rush with that. He's an unpleasant one," she said.

"Don't say that. I'm hundred percent convinced that he'll like me."

She smirked teasingly at him. "You know that you're gonna have to dress up fancy in front of him, right?"

Natsu stared at her for a full minute with something between shock and confusion. Then he nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's not rush things," he muttered nervously. Apparently he didn't like that idea even one bit, not that Lucy was surprised.

Lucy cocked her head and smiled. "Take care on your way back, okay?"

"Hey, I was ready to slay a ghost tonight. There's not much that's gonna scare me after that," he said and rolled his eyes as he turned to leave.

Lucy accompanied him to the front door with mixed feelings. There was still a little disappointment, but she also felt excited that their relationship was moving forward. Meeting the parents was a huge deal after all. And the other stuff could still wait for a while. They had time, at least she liked to naively believe they had their whole lives to catch up.

"I'll see you in three hours then," Lucy said when he opened the door.

"Yup," he replied as he walked outside.

He stopped abruptly after he had walked two steps and turned around as if he forgot something. Lucy arched a brow as he quickly walked back up to her and surprised her with another quick kiss that he broke with one of his adorable grins that Lucy really, really loved to death.

"A goodnight kiss," was the last thing he said to her that night.

Before Lucy could respond in any way, he was already gone. She could make him out waving a goodbye at the guard as he hopped over their garden wall. Lucy shook her head with a smile. Now that she had thought about congratulating him for using the door for once, he went and ruined it again. He was really incredibly weird.

Somehow, she already missed him.

When she closed the door, everything was silent. Of course except for the groans, but that was just their old furniture, stairs and paving tiles. And the low bumping, but that was just the menacing tree outside tapping its branches against the windows. It was still damn cold in their mansion, but that was just because it was autumn and it was chilly outside. There was no ghost, nor a poltergeist, not even a good spirit. It was all just her imagination.

Lucy knew that. She totally knew that, but…

"D-damn you, Natsu," she said, teeth clattering. "N-now I'm scared again."

And three long hours until morning. Oh dear god.


	5. Mail Madness II

AN: As you see, I do keep my promises. Here's the second part of Mail Madness. Gimme a big YAY now!

And I also kept the second part of my promise: Juvia AND Gajeel are in it! I really dunno how much more NatsuxLucy related chapters there are going to be, but what I do know is that I have at least one more idea for a ficlet that I'm gonna write before the big event that this chapter's about is gonna take place. So I guess one more chapter of NaLu goodness, then off to an actual "arc" (kind of), and then on to another pairing.

I am not a GrayxJuvia fan. Not really. I have a soft spot for them, but I wouldn't keep my fingers crossed for anything in this story. Just thought I'd mention it to not get your hopes up.

Disclaimer: If I was Hiro Mashima, would I be writing a fanfiction?

**Honey, Honey**

**Chapter 5: **Mail Madness II

**From: **Juvia (pitter-patter-lady)

**To: **My ex-rival in love (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **Double date

Lucy-san,

First of all, thank you so much for finally giving up on Gray-sama. Juvia is glad you realized that you never had a chance with him. Juvia really hopes you can find happiness with Natsu-san, even if he will never be as handsome and cool as Gray-sama.

Second of all, since you and Natsu-san will go on a double date with Juvia and Gray-sama this Saturday, Juvia thought she should email you since we barely had a chance to talk ever since Juvia transferred from Phantom Academy. Juvia sincerely hopes we can try to get along now that you're no longer after Gray-sama. It would make Juvia very happy.

Greetings

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Juvia (pitter-patter-lady)

**Subject: **RE: Double date

Yeah, the double date. Right, I know about that. It's not like Natsu went and made plans with you without telling me anything. No problem there.

And I keep telling you that I NEVER had a thing for Gray. Not before, not ever. He's totally and entirely not my type, never was, never will. Though I sure am surprised that you guys are a couple now. When did that happen? I had no idea…

Congratulations, I guess?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Idiot (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **EXPLAIN

I'm a LITTLE confused here.

Why did Juvia just send me an email about a double date you and me are going to? We talked about stuff like this, didn't we? Remember what I said when we had this conversation? I believe it sounded a little like THIS:

DON'T GO AND MAKE PLANS FOR US WITHOUT ASKING ME FIRST, YOU MORON!

Do you know how I stupid I felt when I got that email from her? I'll say it one last time: Inform me about stuff like that from now on! Stupid idiot!

I'll let it slip this time because it's for Gray. I just hope for your sake that it doesn't end up like that time you invited Loki to my house. I'm sure you had lots of fun when you guys wore my panties as hats, BUT I DID NOT.

PS: IDIOT!

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Juvia (pitter-patter-lady)

**To: **My ex-rival in love (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **RE: Double date

Thank you. Juvia always loved him more than you, so it's only fair Juvia won.

But it's okay, Lucy-san. You can finally stop denying your feelings for Gray-sama. Juvia is not mad at you anymore. Moreover, now that you realized that Juvia and Gray-sama were always meant to be, Juvia hopes we can be friends!

And though Natsu-san is not as great as Gray-sama, Juvia is hundred percent sure he will make you happy if you let go and accept him. Juvia knows you'll love again.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Juvia (pitter-patter-lady)

**Subject: **RE: Double date

I'm telling you, I never had…

You know what, thanks. I feel like I can finally rest easy now.

PS: Please stop referring to me as your "rival in love" or "Lucy-san". Just Lucy is fine.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Juvia (pitter-patter-lady)

**To: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **RE: Double date

Then… Lucy?

No need to thank me. Juvia can understand what Lucy must feel right now.

Juvia and Gray-sama will be seeing you two at Saturday then. Juvia is really looking forward to it. Juvia never went to karaoke before, so Juvia is very excited.

Have a good day.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Weirdo (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **Huh?

Okay, now wait just a sec… What double date? What are you talking about, you freak? Did you have some kind of weird dream again?

And who the hell is this Lubia girl?

PS: C'mon Luce. That WAS fun. :-D

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Idiot (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **Don't "huh" me!

Are you freaking kidding me, Dragneel? You agree to a stupid double date and you don't even know the girl? And then you just go and FORGET you agreed to it? This is the peak of stupidity, even for you.

For the record, it's not Lubia, it's Juvia. She's the weird girl who transferred with Gajeel from Phantom Academy. You know her, the one who always stalks Gray and now apparently succeeded. At least that's what she said. That you and me are going on a double date with her and Gray.

And honestly, what's with you and names? You've really gotta start remembering them. You called me Luigi for the first week when I transferred.

PS: NO, IT WASN'T.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Luigi :-D (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH

What the hell? I never agreed to a double date! I'd know if I did something like that! Stop hurting my feelings or I'll keep calling you Luigi forever.

That stupid Gray is really going out with her? That's weird, he always says she's annoying…

PS: OH YES IT WAS :-P

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Mario (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **Huh?

Wait, you mean you really had no idea?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Luigi (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **Don't "huh" me :-P

That's exactly what it means. Why would I agree to go on a double date with GRAY of all people and a girl I don't know? Think about how unlikely that sounds.

I really wonder why that Juvia girl thinks we're going with them. What exactly did she say? You know, maybe she's just imagining things.

PS: Mario? Seriously?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Mario (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **Hmph

Oh puh-lease, stop pretending already. We all know you and Gray hang out all the time.

She said we're going on a double date with her and Gray on Saturday, to karaoke I think. And that she's really looking forward to it and stuff. It didn't really sound like she's just making it up… You know, she's not a retard or anything.

PS: Luigi? Seriously?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Luce (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **RE: Hmph

Karaoke? Hey, it's been really long since I did that. Maybe we should go after all. :-D

PS: Lucy and Luigi sound really similar though…

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **RE: Hmph

Of course we're going! I already acted like I knew what she's talking about!

Sheesh, I really don't get it. We should probably ask Gray about this…

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Luce (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **RE: Hmph

Yeah, that's a good idea. You go do that.

I'm gonna try out that new video game I got, so I'll be busy for a while. Wanna go grab a bite after that? No double dates, I promise. :-P

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **RE: Hmph

Wait, why me? YOU go email him!

I had to handle Juvia already. And compared to your video game, I actually have important things to do. I can't sit around emailing random people all day when there's a Physics test tomorrow, which by the way you failed last time.

Emailing Gray is officially your job as of now.

PS: Only if we're not going to Taco Dragon. Nobody except you could actually eat that stuff.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Coward (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **Seriously?

So now you're just not gonna reply anymore? You're such a chicken.

Maybe I should tell Erza about this…

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Killjoy (celestial-girl)

Sheesh, alright already! I'll do it!

But then you'll have to put up with Taco Dragon after all. :-P

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Droopy eyes (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject: **What double date?

What the hell, shitface? What's all this double date stuff about? Lucy was totally furious when that stalker/girlfriend/whatever of yours emailed her about it. And then she let it all out on me!

Just so we're clear, we've never agreed to this! Ask us first, dumbass!

That Juvia girl isn't just making things up again, right?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To: **Squinty eyes (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **RE: What double date?

She EMAILED Lucy? Shit, that girl never listens to a thing I say…

Okay look, I hate to say this, but Juvia's not just making it up. I dunno what exactly got into me that time, but I kinda agreed to go on ONE date. She's NOT my girlfriend. But dude, she cried! What was I supposed to do?

So then I said I would go, but only if you guys came, too. I don't wanna be alone with her, damn it! Do you have ANY idea what she'll do to me? I don't even wanna know, man!

You've gotta come. You still owe me one that I didn't tell Erza about your little sleepover at Lucy's place.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Damn blackmailer (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject: **RE: What double date?

Damn you, asshole. I knew this was gonna bite me in the ass one day.

Don't sweat it, idiot. Lucy already kinda agreed cause she didn't want to look like an idiot. So we don't really have a choice but tag along.

BTW… a date is a date, you know? It doesn't really matter if Lucy and I are there or not, that stalker of yours is gonna wanna do stuff. Either way you're screwed. :-D

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To: **Dumb sissy (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject: **SHUT UP ALREADY

I know, damn it! I realized it right after she left. I already feel like an idiot without you telling me. You're the last person I need to hear dating-stuff from anyway, shitty bastard. You're like an elementary kid when it comes to Lucy.

This was the best I could come up with. I panicked, dude!

Just come to karaoke at Saturday so I don't have to be entirely alone with her!

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject: **RE: SHUT UP ALREADY

I don't think that email was meant for me, Gray. ;-)

What's going on? Why haven't I heard we're going to karaoke? Oh, how fun! We didn't do that in such a long time, tehee~

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To: **Mira-chan (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject: **Oops

Ah sorry about that, Mira-chan. You come right after that damn Natsu in my address book. The thing is… I kinda was just asking Natsu and Lucy… you know? It's a little complicated…

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject: **RE: Oops

You mean I can't come…? :'-(

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To: **Mira-chan (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject: **RE: Oops

No no no! Of course you can come! I was just gonna ask you anyway. No need to be sad, okay?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject: **RE: Oops

Great! I'll email Erza and Levy about it, too! :-D

Oh yay, how fun! We're gonna have a karaoke-party~

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To: **DAMN BASTARD (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **DAMN YOU

I hope you're happy now, stupid shit for brains! You made me so mad that I accidentally emailed Mira-chan instead of you and now she wants to email Levy and ERZA god damn it and make it a stupid karaoke PARTY!

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Idiot of the month (cold-as-ice6)

**Subject: **RE: DAMN YOU

Oh my dog, you're even more stupid than I thought. Use your head, idiot. Now you're definitely not gonna be alone with that Juvia girl, right? It's not a real date anymore if there's a crowd.

A karaoke party sure sounds fun though. Phew, thank god you emailed Mira. I was scared I'd be ready to kill myself after spending an evening with you and that girl…

I'm REALLY glad Lucy is almost normal compared to your chick.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gray (cold-as-ice6)

**To: **Stupid hair color (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **RE: DAMN YOU

…

Okay, that's true. Damn, this date-thing makes me so mad that I don't even know anymore when something actually GOOD happens…

All right, listen here, dumbass. Email as many people as possible, got it! Tell Loki to bring his whole fanclub if you have to!

See you Saturday. And you better not cancel on me last minute!

PS: She's NOT my chick!

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**To: **Levy (bookworm73); Erza (titania3824)

**Subject: **Karaoke party!

Hey girls!

We're all gonna have a karaoke party this Saturday! Lucy, Natsu, Gray and some girl are coming, too. It's gonna be sooo much fun, tehee~

Bring whoever you want. This means you, Levy. ;-)

Love,

Mira

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Levy (bookworm73)

**To: **Mira (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject: **RE: Karaoke party!

Oooh, sounds awesome. Count me and Gajeel in. :-D

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Erza Scarlet (titania3824)

**To: **Mirajane (gentledemon-MJ)

**Subject: **RE: Karaoke party!

Mira,

Thank you very much for your invitation. I will gladly participate.

Sincerely,

Your friend Erza

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Levy (bookworm73)

**To: **Gajeel (steel-surfer666)

**Subject: **Karaoke

Hey Gajeel, we're going to karaoke this Saturday with all of my friends. I expect you to be nice to them. And don't wear your leather jacket, you already look plenty like a delinquent even without it.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gajeel (steel-surfer666)

**To: **Levy (bookworm73)

**Subject: **RE: Karaoke

What the hell, woman?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Levy (bookworm73)

**To: **Gajeel (steel-surfer666)

**Subject: **RE: Karaoke

You said you wanted to make some friends, right? Well, this is your chance.

I already told them we're going, so don't even bother saying no. You owe me this favor. Remember what you did to me, Jet and Droy back when you were a Phantom Academy student…? :-P

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Gajeel (steel-surfer666)

**To: **Levy (bookworm73)

**Subject: **RE: Karaoke

I didn't say I'm not going, did I? Sheesh. Don't bother me.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Levy (bookworm73)

**To: **Gajeel (steel-surfer666)

**Subject: **RE: Karaoke

Good boy. ;-)

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Levy (bookworm73)

**To: **Lu-chan (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **Karaoke party and Gray's girlfriend

Lu-chaaan!

I am SO excited for the karaoke party this Saturday! It's been so long since we've all been together, particularly us girls. Ever since you and I started dating our super adorable boyfriends we haven't really been able to hang out much with Mira and Erza, right? Not to mention with each other. I really miss you. :-(

So who's Gray's mysterious girlfriend by the way? Mira said he'd bring a girl. Oooh, don't tell me it's Gajeel's friend Juvia! That'd be so cute!

Talking about Gajeel… I hope you're sitting cause he's coming with me Saturday. Yup, he's finally agreed to meet you all. Well, that is you and Natsu already know him… kind of… Oh god, I hope they don't start fighting…

Anyway, call me when you read this! See ya! :-*

PS: What will you be wearing? I mean it's a party, so we should probably dress up. But we're just going to karaoke, so we don't wanna dress up too much… See my dilemma? Help me, fashion queen! :-P

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **STUPID IDIOT (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **EXPLAIN

I'm even more confused now.

Why did Levy just send me an email about a karaoke PARTY we're all going to? How the hell did that even HAPPEN? And why in LUCIFER'S name am I the last one to know everything?

EXPLAIN YOURSELF.

PS: IDIOT!

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Luigi (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **Woosa

Shit, I forgot to call you after I emailed Gray. He proved that he's the biggest idiot in the world after agreeing to go on a date with that girl cause she was crying. And then he went and invited us without really inviting us so he wouldn't be alone with her and then… I don't really know how exactly he did it but he kinda sent an email to Mira that was meant for me and she invited herself and everyone else.

So chill out already. What's so bad about a karaoke party? Your friends are all gonna be there. I don't really get why you're so upset. :-/

Is it that time of the month…?

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Stupid idiot (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **RE: Woosa

I'm so gonna slap you next time I see you. Which is in less than one hour.

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Natsu (dragonbreath777)

**To: **Luigi (celestial-girl)

**Subject: **RE: Woosa

I'm not going to Taco Dragon with THIS Lucy. D-:

PS: Karaoke's gonna be fun, okay? If it's boring you can slap me all you want.

PPS: Did you know that you're the only girl I know that manages to be cute and annoying at the same time? :-P

**.a.a.a.**

**From: **Lucy (celestial-girl)

**To: **Stupid idiot (dragonbreath777)

**Subject: **RE: Woosa

You're frustrating, you know that? I'll see you in half an hour… :-)

PS: I love you.


	6. Meet the Dragneels

AN: Phew, this one took me sooo long. I dunno, I was really struggling to get this done and the bad news is, it didn't even turn out very well. I think it's because I know nothing about Igneel and Grandine's character, but still paired them up for some stupid reason. I just really wanted to make Wendy Natsu's little sister. In the end, it might not have been such a good idea.

Next time will probably be the start of the Karaoke Party arc. That is, if I can pull it off. I had kind of lost my interest for Fairy Tail, but since it's slowly starting to build up again, I'm gonna try my best! For now, enjoy this installment.

Disclaimer: If I were Hiro Mashima and owned Fairy Tail, would I be writing fanfiction?

**Honey, Honey**

**Chapter 7: **Meet the Dragneels

Lucy was panicking.

She anxiously massaged her moist hands as she paced up and down in front of the cozy-looking house near the river in Magnolia with the beautiful little garden. Every time she glanced at the door bell, she suddenly found it utterly hard to breathe. She forced her dry mouth to take a deep breath as she carefully read what was written beneath for the hundredth time.

_Dragneel & Marvell_

Okay, she needed to calm down. It wasn't like she was about to meet Satan or something. She could totally do this. She _had_ to do this. After all, Lucy had promised Natsu that today would finally be the day that she met his family for the very first time. She couldn't chicken out of it _again_. Not after she had put him off three times already.

_You can do this, Lucy_, she told herself over and over.

After another deep breath, she walked towards the mahogany door and briefly giggled nervously at a sticker on it that said _Beware of the cat_ – it was pretty obvious who put that there. Lucy didn't really know if it actually was that funny or if she was just laughing at the absurdity of the whole scene. Her question kind of got answered when she felt an awkward tumbling inside her stomach. Oh good god, she couldn't throw up _now_.

Lucy swallowed… air or something, to get over her queasy feeling. She closed her eyes for a moment, reassuring herself that she could do this once more. When she opened her eyes again, her vision was kind of blurry and she felt a little dizzy. She exhaled sharply when she realized the reason why she was feeling faint was that she had been holding her breath for the last minute or so.

Raising her finger to ring the bell, she suddenly felt pretty determined. She could totally do this. She was a nice, pretty and smart girl and every parent would be lucky to have their son date her. She could do this.

Her trembling hand paused right in front of the door bell and her fake smile faltered.

She could _so not_ do this.

Lucy turned on her heels and walked a few steps back, tearing at her hair and groaning in despair. It was impossible. Her heart was too weak to take this. What if his father thought she was a total freak for making Natsu come all the way to her house in the middle of the night on a _school day_ nonetheless to slay some imaginary horror creature? What if his step-mother was one of those monsters-in-law who would make her life hell?

This was bad for her health. Maybe she should just go home. Natsu would understand.

But then again, she had put a lot of effort into her looks today. She was wearing her hair down in soft curls and even put on a nice long sleeved cream-colored top and her favorite pair of denim jeans. Not much cleavage either. And she had made sure to wear her prettiest make up. She undeniably looked like the perfect daughter-in-law. Lucy really didn't want all her work to be in vain.

Maybe she could do this after all. Lucy glanced back at the door, cringed and quickly turned around again. No, she couldn't. She wasn't feeling well. Maybe she was coming down with a cold or something. She couldn't take the responsibility for passing on a disease to Natsu's family, could she? No way, that would be way too reckless.

The moment Lucy came to the decision that she would write Natsu a text message on her way back home, she heard the door open up behind her. She immediately froze stiff, sending a prayer up to the heavens that it was neither of his parents.

"Luce!"

There was no turning back anymore.

She flinched in guilt, slowly turning around to face a _very_ happy looking Natsu. Actually, that was an understatement. He looked _ecstatic_, like he had just gotten a present that he had wanted for an eternity, like he had been looking forward to this moment for ages. His adorable grin immediately set her at peace, even if just a tiny bit.

Lucy forced an odd smile, waving uncertainly. "H-hi."

"I had a feeling you were out here," Natsu babbled happily as he came up to her and kissed her cheek. When he drew back, he eyed her from head to toe. "You look really pretty."

She blushed slightly, waving it off as she in turn took a good look at her boyfriend. He looked way too normal – well, as normal as Natsu can look. A blue shirt with yellow writing all over it (it didn't make even a tiny bit of sense), a black jeans, an equally black cap and, of course, his treasured scarf that his father had made especially for him. Lucy suddenly felt awfully overdressed.

"I thought this was an occasion to dress up for. And now I feel stupid because you didn't."

"Is that why your expression looks so weird?"

"I'm nervous, you jerk," Lucy hissed a little too high-pitched.

Natsu gave a chuckle. "There's no reason to be nervous. I promise it'll be fun." The next she knew, he had already grabbed for her hand and started to pull her inside. "Come in, everyone's dying to meet you!"

"I-is that so," Lucy barely managed to squeal, careful not to stumble over her own feet.

And suddenly, she was standing in the narrow corridor, finding herself admiring the way everything inside this house seemed small, yes, but also warm and comforting. It was the perfect opposite of her home where everything was cold and big, and Lucy was reminded exactly _why_ she wanted to move out as soon as possible – to have something nice and cozy like _this_.

"Here, gimme your coat," Natsu said as he helped her take it off.

Wow, so he could be a gentleman when he wanted. "Thanks," Lucy replied absentmindedly as she continued to look around.

She hid a smirk with her palm when she spotted a framed drawing by Natsu when he was in third grade – _My dad as a dragon_. So he had already been plenty weird as a kid, too. She thought it was pretty cute that Natsu's father cherished something this random so much. Lucy's father had never cared about stuff like this. Her mother had loved it, though.

When she heard a soft meow, she looked down to find a purely white cat glancing up at her through blue eyes. "Oh good, you finally stopped dying your poor cat's fur blue," she giggled as she bent down to pet the cat; it hissed nastily at her and she quickly withdrew her hand, wide-eyed.

Natsu burst out laughing. "Are you crazy? I'd _never _stop dying Happy's fur. Blue makes him look unique," he said with a grin. "That one's Charle, my step-sister's cat. She's not very nice to people… _or_ other cats. The only one she likes is Wendy."

"I-I see," Lucy mumbled, still somewhat taken aback. She had totally forgotten that Natsu had a little step-sister.

"C'mon, they're probably in the living room," he said, giving her back a gentle push.

"Wait!" Lucy halted him with a hand on his chest and bit her bottom lip. "Are you sure they're… I mean – what if they won't like me?"

Natsu gave a laugh, ruffling her hair. "Don't worry about stuff like that. You just have to be yourself, then there's no way they won't like you," he put an arm around her shoulders with a grin, "That's how you made me fall for you, too."

She smiled up at him, cheeks rosy, and suddenly she didn't feel as nervous anymore. "Sheesh, sometimes you really say some embarrassing stuff," she mumbled, playfully boxing his arm. "C'mon now, let's get this over with before I change my-OOF!"

Before she could finish her response, Natsu had already pulled her forward by her wrist a little too violently. God, that guy really couldn't control his strength whenever he was this excited. Somehow Lucy found this incredibly endearing, but at the same time it was terribly taxing – especially since her arm hurt now. Then again, she was glad he didn't take her hand, because her palm was so moist by now that she was scared to leave a trace of sweat pearls along the way to the living room. She desperately tried to tidy up her hair style that Natsu had messed up earlier before he pushed her through the door directly towards…

Okay, now she was officially insane. There was no way she was looking at a _freaking dragon_. Yet it was there, it was green, it had scales, and it had terribly menacing eyes, those huge deadly looking fangs and…

Holy shit, there was a dragon here.

"Boo!" it growled with raised claws.

"KYA!"

Lucy jumped straight back into Natsu's arms, mumbling something in pure terror about slaying a dragon and saving the princess when she felt his chest vibrating against her cheek with heavy laughter. Her eyes widened in confusion when she heard a deep snickering from behind her and she immediately had a very queasy feeling about this. Lucy slowly, very slowly looked up at her boyfriend, who was wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, and then, ever so slowly, turned around to face the creature just in time to see it remove its head.

WHAT.

No, wait. There was a man underneath the… _mask_?

"You were right, Natsu. That _was_ fun," said the man with a wide grin. Lucy instantly noticed that his canines, like Natsu's, were a little longer than usual.

Natsu was almost toppling over with laughter while Lucy just gawked in bewilderment, "Told you she was going to fall for it, Dad!"

Wait a second.

"D…dad?" Lucy mumbled quietly, feeling incredibly stupid.

"Good thing I didn't throw your old Halloween costume out," said Natsu's father, running a hand through his dark red hair before he turned to his son's girlfriend, "So you're the girl I've heard so much about. Wow, you really _are_ pretty. I thought my idiot son just made that up."

"Hey!" Natsu snarled.

Lucy felt a blush on her cheeks as she bowed slightly. "Th- thank you, Mr. Dragneel. I- I'm Lucy Heartphilia, it's very nice to meet you." She momentarily toyed with the idea to use a stereotypical line like 'I can see where Natsu's got his good looks from', but then decided against it. Natsu said to be herself so that was what she would do. She was going to be fine.

"Oi, oi, no need to be so formal. We're a family now. Just call me Igneel," he said, winking at her.

_It's family already?_ Lucy thought bewildered. "I- I don't know…" she mumbled with a tense giggle.

"Oh good, are you already picking on her, Igneel? How perfect, that's oughta give her a nice image of us," said a sarcastic female voice from behind Natsu's father.

Lucy looked up to see a beautiful slender woman with long, silvery hair appearing next to Igneel. Her eyes were just a tad similar to Natsu's pointy ones, and although Lucy knew this woman wasn't Natsu's real mother, she somehow felt comforted and relieved when she looked in her eyes. Natsu's step-mother smiled warmly and Lucy actually blushed. Oh god, had she been staring for long?

The older woman reached out her hand. "You must be Lucy. Nice to finally meet you. I'm Grandine, Natsu's step-mom."

"N- nice to meet you, too," Lucy mumbled as she nervously shook her hand.

"Come on in, Lucy-chan! Make yourself home!" Igneel exclaimed as he lead her into the living room. Lucy could make out a laid table in the back. "Grandine prepared a really big feast, just for you!"

She almost shrieked when Grandine's face suddenly appeared really close next to her. "You're not a vegetarian, are you?"

"N- no," Lucy sputtered. She cursed herself for still trembling with uneasiness.

Grandine smiled at her in relief. "Good." Then suddenly screamed, scaring Lucy almost to death, "WENDY! SHE'S HERE!"

As Natsu's parents disappeared in the kitchen (hopefully not to discuss her first impression), Lucy stood still in the middle of the living room, unsure what to make of this situation. Right now, it was a little too much for her brain to take in. First of all, Natsu's father was as weird as Natsu himself, which wasn't very surprising – so he really did take after Igneel after all. Second of all, Natsu's step-mother was unexpectedly a real beauty. Not that she had imagined anything else, just not a… well, _magazine_ _cover _likebeauty. Lucy involuntarily pondered that Mirajane could someday look a little like that, given that she was the prettiest girl she knew.

All in all, his parents were definitely different than she pictured them. And she was glad they were. She was really, really glad they were these warm people who welcomed her with open arms, so painfully different from her father. Truth be told, she was a little jealous of Natsu right now.

She flinched slightly when Natsu slung an arm around her shoulders. "See? They already like you," he said with a grin so bright than it made her smile herself.

"You think so?"

"Of course! Grandine's never that nice to just anyone. And Dad can be pretty scary, too," he said, looking at her like she was an idiot. "Happy agrees with me!"

"Aye!"

Lucy grimaced at the blue cat in his arms. "I hope you know that this aye-thing is seriously weird. Can't he meow like a normal cat?" She briefly wondered how Natsu even managed to teach a _cat_ to say 'aye' as she patted Happy's head.

Natsu stared at her. "But that'd be so boring."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Of course," she scoffed with a smirk.

"So how's the blood pressure? Calmed down a bit?"

"Huh? Oh." She blinked at him in surprise. "Actually… yeah, I did."

Natsu grinned at her. "That's good then. You know, if anything they're probably even more nervous than you are."

"Why would _they _be nervous?"

"Well, this is a first for them. For me, too," he said, scratching his head in sudden embarrassment, but still smiling. "After all, I've never introduced a girl to them before."

Lucy's eyes widened in pure disbelief, cheeks heating up rapidly.

"You're kidding."

Natsu gave a nervous chuckle. "Nope."

Was he _serious_? She was the first one he brought home to meet his family? God, that stupid weirdo just had to go say unnecessary things. Now she was feeling all self-conscious again. She didn't even want to know what huge expectations they had now…

She really was the first?

"B- blood pressure going up with lightning speed," Lucy mumbled numbly.

Natsu snickered softly, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning down until their noses touched. "Want me to calm you down?" he whispered with a lop-sided grin.

She flushed crimson as he leaned in even more, trying to back away a bit. "N- Natsu, stop it," she mumbled weakly when he kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Why? They're all busy…"

Before he could kiss her on the lips, Lucy quickly clasped a hand over his mouth, cheeks still very, very warm. "That doesn't matter. I won't make you with you when your parents are right next door!" he hissed under her breath.

"Oh c'mon, they don't care," he smirked, removing her hand.

"No means no!"

"Kehehehe…"

Lucy froze stiff when she heard the male chuckle right behind them and slowly turned around to find Igneel and Grandine's heads peeking out from the door to the kitchen. It didn't help that Igneel had a stupid grin similar to Natsu's (well, not right now), but it definitely helped that Grandine whacked the man over his head furiously.

"You just couldn't keep it inside, could you!" she snapped.

"Hey, stupid parents!" Natsu snarled, pointing an accusing finger at them while Lucy turned to a frozen red pillar. "It's rude to peek on your son and his girlfriend!"

Grandine stuck out her tongue at them. "Don't be such a brat, Natsu," she said, grabbing Igneel at the back of his shirt and dragging him back into the kitchen.

Natsu was literally fuming. "What did that old hag just call me…?" But when he heard a soft giggle right next to him, his anger evaporated into thin air.

Lucy's cheeks were still rosy, but she was smiling widely at him. "Your family is really warm."

**.a.a.a.**

"Do you like the chicken, Lucy?" Grandine asked with a big, motherly smile.

"Yeah, it's really delicious. You're a great cook," Lucy complimented rather cheerfully. Somehow, she had managed to push her nervousness into the darkest corner of her stomach where it would only occasionally show up. Like whenever she glanced at Wendy, Natsu's little step-sister, who was staring silently at her since they had started to eat.

Lucy barely suppressed a squeak when Igneel suddenly shoved a plate of pickled stuff under her nose. "You've gotta try some of these, they're really good. You look like you like oily stuff."

"She really does, doesn't she?" Natsu laughed as he munched on a chicken leg.

_They really are father and son_, Lucy thought, politely waving her hand at Igneel. "Thanks, I'm fine."

Wendy stared concentrated at Lucy's face, as if it was a riddle she had to solve, before she talked to her for the first time, "Are you really Natsu's girlfriend?"

Lucy blinked at her in bewilderment while Natsu scowled at his little sister. "Now what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Wendy mumbled quickly, cheeks turning rosy. "It's just that she's really pretty."

Natsu turned around to his girlfriend, obviously offended. "Did you hear that? She insulted me without using the actual word!" Lucy giggled at him, patting his hand.

Igneel offered Lucy a wide grin. "So, Lucy-chan. How did you and Natsu meet anyway? All he ever tells me is 'Lucy is so awesome' and 'Lucy is so smart' and stuff…"

"Hey!" Natsu snapped, blushing just the tiniest bit.

"Actually, we're in the same class and that's where we met, too," said the blond, her face darkening. "Although the first time we talked to each other isn't particularly a nice memory for me."

Grandine, who was sitting next to Natsu, pinched his arm until he _squeaked_. "What did you do to her, you useless brat?"

"I didn't do anything! It was her fault in the first place!"

"What are you saying?" Lucy huffed, scowling at him. "It was totally and entirely your fault!"

"You made me look like an idiot!"

"Because _you_ made me look like an idiot first!"

**.a.a.a.**

One year ago

**.a.a.a.**

Their first meeting had been embarrassing, to say the least. But of course for Lucy only. Some almighty evil must have established some freaky sort of hateful infatuation with her. There was no other explanation why it was always her that dropped one blunder after the other.

It was her first day at her new school. She was as excited as can be to finally be able to go to a public school. Her last one was… to put it nicely, _snobby_. And that a lot. Lucy was eager to find out what the difference between private school and public school really meant. Hopefully, there would be some interesting guys to spend quality time with.

So that day, she walked into Fairy Academy with her head held high, a wide smile on her pretty face. She had promised herself to not get all nervous, because really, there was no reason to be. She was attractive, funny, and nice, and she _knew_ that, so there would be no way they wouldn't like her or anything. She wasn't nervous. Nope, not nervous at all.

Lucy's smile faltered only a little as she reached the door of her new classroom, the grip on her school bag tightening. Okay, breathe in, breathe out. There was no reason to be nervous. It wasn't like hell was waiting behind that door. Nobody would play a mean trick on her or something like that after all.

At that, she giggled a little, and finally found the courage to open the door, proudly taking a step into the classroom when suddenly a bucket with icy water crashed down upon her.

Okay, _what_.

This was horrible. The worst case scenario. It had to be a dream, a nightmare. But the distant laughter echoing inside the bucket around her head told her it wasn't. Somebody _did_ actually play a mean trick on her. And on her first day, too! Oh, this school was _evil_!

"Gahahaha! Natsu's done it again!"

"Sheesh, that guy will never cease to crack me up!"

Lucy slowly removed the bucket from her head, her face flushing all shades of crimson and her body shivering from both the chilly water and the bottomless shame. If that was how this school welcomed newcomers, then she really hated this place. What cruel and terrible people played a trick on a girl on her first day?

This was too embarrassing. Way too embarrassing.

"Hey, you freak!" shouted a raspy male voice from the back. "Thank you _very_ much for ruining the brilliant trap I put up for Gray! Watch where you're going next time, idiot!"

She was so stunned, so incredibly mortified by the absurdity of the whole situation that she couldn't even look up, let alone start screaming at that asshole of a guy who had the nerve to start yelling at _her_ for walking into _his_ trap.

"Oi oi, Natsu. That's kinda harsh…"

"That was mean!" said one girl that Lucy could vaguely make out to be a white-haired beauty. "She's probably the new transfer student! What kind of picture must that have given her of us?"

"It's her own fault for being stupid enough to fall for it," snorted the guy named Natsu.

"Ha ha, you're insulting your own trap."

Lucy could still only look down at her shoes, water dripping from her nose to the ground. She balled her trembling fists, biting her lower lip as she desperately tried to think of some insults, anything to humiliate him just like he had humiliated her, but her mind was blank. Except for one thought.

_This school is the worst!_

"O- oi, I think you made her cry…"

"Huh!"

"Look what you did, Natsu!"

"B- but I-"

"Uncool, man. Uncool."

"That wasn't-"

"You're not manly at all."

"She's the one who-"

"Apologize, you meanie!"

Lucy's eyes widened. Wait a second. Were the same guys who had been laughing at her misery just a minute ago… sticking up for her now?

"O- ow! Mira, my ear!"

"Hey, there." Suddenly, the white-haired girl's face popped up into Lucy's vision, making the blonde shrink back a little in shock. The girl offered a smile so warm and encouraging that Lucy's heart instantly felt a bit lighter. "Here's someone who wants to apologize to you."

"Ouch," whined that Natsu-guy, rubbing over his sore ear before finally meeting Lucy's gaze. He had… pink hair.

_Eek, a Yankee. I should've known_, Lucy thought with a grimace. His features were nice though, pretty handsome even, but she knew that this was normal for delinquents. The good-looking guys always had a screwed-up personality.

Said delinquent quickly looked away, clearing his throat and maybe he was even blushing a little. "Sorry," he mumbled into his palm. "It wasn't meant for you."

Lucy blinked at him as though he had just proposed to her. And then, maybe just because of that, she finally snapped out of her numbness and actually smiled. Very slyly.

"I won't forgive you," she answered simply and calmly walked past the shocked guy.

"What the-"

Lucy turned around to him and smirked. "It wasn't a sincere apology. So I won't forgive you until you really mean it," she told him triumphantly while she put her bag down next to a free desk. "I'm gonna sit here if nobody minds."

She could practically feel that guy gawking at her, stunned, his mouth hanging open.

Lucy flashed him her most endearing smile. "Anytime you're ready. Natsu, was it?"

As she sat down and brought out the books she knew she needed for this lesson, there was a stunned silence for at least two minutes, until hoarse laughter broke it from the door and a snickering guy with dark-blue hair came stumbling into the classroom.

He had to steady himself against the doorframe to not fall over with laughter. "You go, girl," he managed to croak out between chuckles. "You really pawned him there. I bet we'll be good friends."

And just like that, the whole classroom broke into roaring laughter.

"Ha ha! You really got your ass handed, Natsu!"

"The new girl has got some guts!"

"Oh my," the white-haired girl subtly giggled into her palm.

Lucy flashed her white teeth at the salmon-haired guy in a superior smile while he scowled at her, turning away and heading back to his seat. Suddenly, she didn't feel so nervous anymore.

It could've started out worse, right?

**.a.a.a.**

"He never did apologize sincerely, though," Lucy teased with a triumphant smirk.

Wendy looked sincerely shocked. "You're the worst, Natsu," she huffed, shaking her head.

Natsu shot her an indignant frown. "I've got nothing be so-" He paused mid-sentence when he felt an ice cold shiver run down his spine. Grandine's dangerous glare pierced his back in a way that made him break out in cold sweat. Next he knew, his step-mother tackled him and pulled him in a suffocating headlock.

"GAH!"

"You throw buckets with _ice water_ on girls? Have you forgotten everything I've taught you, idiot son?" she hissed threateningly in his ear, eyes flashing up. Even Lucy trembled momentarily.

Natsu desperately tried to free himself from her grip. "I- it was an accident! I swear!"

"Sh- she's unexpectedly strong…" Lucy mumbled awkwardly.

Igneel gave a deep sigh. "You have _no_ idea."

"I'm really sorry you have to put up with this numbnut here," Grandine sighed angrily, releasing Natsu who was rubbing over his neck. "He's causing nothing but trouble. It's tough having such a hotheaded boyfriend. I know what you're going through." She shot Igneel a scowl.

"Ahaha. Now, you don't really mean that," Igneel chuckled happily.

Lucy giggled as Natsu sulkily munched on his chicken. "It's not really that bad," she said. "He's a little difficult at first, but once you get past all the craziness, you realize that he's got a really good heart." She blushed when Natsu arched a brow and smirked at her, and quickly focused back on her dish.

Igneel suddenly grinned very smugly. "Yes, yes, that's the charm of the Dragneel men. It's what makes us so irresistible," he said proudly.

"You wish," Grandine teased.

Wendy, trying to ignore her step-father's rambling, looked at Lucy curiously. "So, Lucy-san?" she spoke up shyly, cheeks coloring a soft pink. "Are you going to marry Natsu?"

Lucy promptly choked on a mouthful of chicken, flushing ten different shades of crimson, while Natsu knitted his brows at his little sister, looking confused. Grandine gave an exasperated sigh and flicked Wendy's forehead. Very painfully.

"Ow!"

"Stop asking inappropriate questions, Wendy. They're only in high school."

Wendy pursed her lips in a pout and rubbed over her forehead. "But once you start making babies, you have to get married. And Romeo-kun told me that people their age are practicing to make babies when they're in high school…"

Meanwhile, Lucy's head was spinning. Babies? Marriage? What the hell. How did it come to _this_ now? Practicing… with Natsu… _No! Don't think about perverted stuff when you're eating with his parents, Lucy, you idiot!_, she thought in horror, face flushed.

"Don't listen to Macao's brat," Grandine snapped. "Natsu and Lucy aren't practicing anything together. Am I right?" At this, she turned to the couple in question with a dangerous glare, making both flinch in shock.

Igneel smirked mischievously at them. "Although if they will, I hope everyone's gonna be wearing everything they're supposed to wear. Since it's only practice," he purred.

Lucy's ears had already turned a very unhealthy looking red, and even Natsu blushed pretty badly at his father's insinuation. "We're not doing anything, stupid old man!" he yelled while the blonde tried her best to just ignore the very embarrassing conversation.

"I thought you had to be naked to have sex…" Wendy mumbled confused. "Romeo-kun said-OW!"

"Don't listen to Macao's brat!"

**.a.a.a.**

"Thank you very much for having me over," Lucy said as she bowed slightly. "It was very nice to meet you."

"Aww! You're so polite and cute!" Grandine cooed as she threw her arms around the blonde in a bone-crushing hug. "Please come again soon! I'll make sure we have lots of oily stuff here next time!"

Lucy smiled nervously, gasping for air. "I- I don't really like oily stuff, but thanks…"

Igneel elbowed his son painfully in the side. "Natsu, take good care of Lucy-chan on her way home, ya hear? I don't wanna hear any complaints that the Dragneels can't protect their women."

"Of course!" Natsu hissed. "Sheesh… C'mon Luce, let's go before they get another stupid idea." He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door, while Lucy struggled to slip into the other sleeve of her coat.

"Bye bye, Lucy-chan! Make sure to drop by again!"

"Whack him good if he does something stupid!"

"Shut up, idiot parents!" Natsu snapped furiously while Lucy giggled in amusement and waved her goodbye.

Grandine smiled warmly as she watched Natsu pull Lucy along, angrily mumbling something to her while she was laughing, until they turned the corner and disappeared. She nudged her husband with a smirk and leaned against him, grateful their stupid son had found someone so perfect for him.

"You know, Igneel," she said. "They kinda remind me of us."

Igneel grinned smugly at her, slinging an arm around her. "Which reminds _me_… We haven't been practicing in a while, have we?"

"Eww, are you guys still having sex?" Wendy exclaimed in disgust from somewhere behind them and Grandine whirled around to her daughter in utmost horror.

"That's it, you're not playing with that Romeo kid anymore!"


	7. Special: Dragon vs Dragon

**AN: **Whoa, I've really been dead, haven't I? But I've risen! Well, kind of. To make up for my absence, I brought you a little special. Maybe it's a little boring, but better than nothing until I start with the Karaoke arc.

Oh yeah, I'll pick up **Highlife and Mayhem**, too. For anyone interested, go check it out. It's my first connected multichaptered fic about Natsu and Lucy.

**Honey, Honey**

**Special: **Dragon vs. Dragon

The only thing Gajeel wanted was to smoke his cigarette in peace on the roof of Fairy Academy. Usually, he could, because no one ever came up here but him, and sometimes the shrimp would join him during lunch break. Today was different, though.

Only that it wasn't the shrimp.

"Oi."

That _voice_. It was like nails scratching over a chalk board in his ears. For some reason, that person, that _man_, always raised something like a killing intend in him. Not that he was the only one. He was just pretty much the god damn master at it.

But the shrimp wouldn't keep nagging at him to be civil to her friends, so he did the only thing he could - he ignored him.

"Skipping class, too?"

Gajeel just barely shot a glimpse up and saw that the guy had the same look of disgust on his face that he just felt. The black-haired delinquent almost smirked. _Guess bunny girl's been nagging at him, too, _he thought, puffing an annoyed-sounding "Tch" through his teeth together with some smoke.

"Did you just 'tch' me?! I'm gonna kick that nasty piece of rotten ash out of your mouth!"

Oh, for fuck's sake. "Pipe down, Salamander," he downright growled. "I could kill you with my thumb."

Natsu glared, but he was grinning. "Big talk for the tamed 'Iron Dragon of Phantom High', don't you think?"

There was an itching in Gajeel's fingers. That damn shrimp had better thank him later with some good lovin' for not ripping Salamander's ass open right then and there. "Aren't you the one who got tamed, bunny lover? Your girl's got you way more in her grip."

"I dare you to say that again!" Natsu hissed, his ears red. "And stop calling her that! It was a god damn Halloween party!"

"Whatever, bunny lover."

Natsu clicked his tongue at his counterpart, turning away. "I give up. You're impossible to get along with."

"Oh no, that mean we won't have sleepovers and compare bras?" Gajeel dead-panned, then showed him the finger. "Just piss off and leave me the hell alone."

"I really have no idea what Levy wants with you, bastard."

That kind of hit a sore spot. He didn't get it either. Especially after what he did to her... The weirdest part though was that she wasn't his type at all. Not even a little bit. And yet... Yet she triggered something he couldn't really put his finger on. He wanted to be a better man, for her. And he had no idea why.

But not to this assface, and especially not today since he's put him in a bad mood. A sly grin formed on his face. "See ya saturday, dumbshit."

Natsu immediately froze on the spot. He didn't turn around, but Gajeel knew he'd fucked up the Salamander's day just as much as he'd fucked up his.

"You're coming to karaoke?"

"Wasn't my idea."

"You're coming."

"You deaf or something?"

"So _you're _coming."

"You can keep saying it, but it won't stop being true."

Finally Natsu turned around. "Why the _fu_- You should've tried to get out of it! You _hate _us!" he yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "And we kind of pictured you drowning in a gutter and dying, like, countless times, ya know."

"I _have _tried, dillhole," Gajeel hissed, "But..."

"But what, damn it?"

He felt his cheeks heating up and looked down. "I can't say no to her."

Silence.

Natsu just stood there, taken aback. His anger had died down completely, that's how stumped he was. "Huh?" he mumbled unintelligently.

"Don't make me say it again!" Gajeel barked, now flat-out blushing.

Natsu's mouth started twitching, and soon he was roaring with laughter, almost toppling over. "Gahahaha! You're blushing! Oh hell, this is priceless!"

"I'll rip your skin off and make a tent out of it!"

"Gahaha, that's cute! Will that be before or after you let Levy braid the ugly fan on your head that you actually call hair?"

"Your death will be slow and painful!"

Gajeel just sat there, feeling embarrassed beyond belief while Salamander kept laughing. Why did he tell him that anyway? It didn't make sense. He hated this guy's guts more than anything else, and yet he had just willingly told him his biggest weakness. There was no way that he wasn't gonna use it against him in some way. He was so screwed.

"Haaah!" Natsu sighed with a wide grin, flopping down next to Gajeel against the wall. "I know _exactly _what you mean, y'know."

Gajeel had wanted to start yelling to get up, but stopped for a, "Huh?"

Natsu scratched the back of his head, smirking sheepishly. "Ya know, with Lucy, I mean. I can't really say no to her either. I start complaining, but in the end I'll do it anyway." He chuckled. "Worst part is that she knows that."

"And they're taking full advantage of it," Gajeel added.

"Exactly!"

They grinned at each other.

And instantly froze after that, their grins wiped off for a disgusted expression. And then quickly turned their heads away. Gajeel felt nauseous. What the heck? Was he _bonding _with Salamander here?

"Uhm..." Natsu started after a while, still not looking at him. "One thing's been bothering me... What do you, y'know, even see in Levy? We've already established that she's way out of your league, but you don't really look like you'd go after her type either..." He paused. "Let's face it, you're kind of a psychopath. And she's just the girl next door."

Gajeel quirked a brow, annoyed. "So?"

"What made you fall for her?"

He thought about it. For a moment, he wanted to answer. It didn't last long, though. His ears felt hot all of a sudden just thinking about the shrimp. Damn her and damn her effect on him. He didn't even _know_ what it was that was drawing him to her so much. She was flat as a pancake, and so damn tiny that he was scared he'd step on her some day. Maybe it was the way she always told him that deep down he had a good heart. She said it so often that he started to believe it himself.

"Tch, wouldn't you like to know. What made _you_ fall for bunny girl?" Gajeel mused for a moment, then grinned. "Bet you just wanted your way with that hot body of hers."

"You're talking about my woman, shitface," Natsu growled.

Gajeel suddenly paled. Shit, they were _joking around _and _casually chatting_. Like _friends_. He wanted to puke.

"I guess what I really wanted to know was just..." The Salamander looked like he was thinking about how to say this right. "If you're really serious about Levy."

"_What_?"

Natsu's face was deadly serious. "Listen up. Levy's great, okay? She's a good girl that would do anything to help someone in need, even if she doesn't know them. And she's my girlfriend's best friend, so that makes her my close friend, too," he said, and it was the most neutral tone Gajeel had ever heard him use towards himself, "If you hurt her in any way..."

Gajeel didn't even let him finish his threat. "If I start something, I finish it."

"What does _that _mean?"

"I never start something I'm not serious about."

Natsu stared at him speechlessly for a moment, before grinning. "Well, that's good enough, I guess."

The black-haired delinquent lit himself another cigarette. "If that's all you wanted to know, you can go back now," he mumbled. "And while you're at it, tell bunny girl that she really sucks at hiding."

The moment he said it, a blonde head of hair quickly ducked down behind the window on the door to the roof, and Natsu burst out laughing as he jumped back on his feet. "So you knew, huh?"

Gajeel grinned slyly. "You _so _got tamed, Salamander."

"Right back at ya," Natsu chuckled, making a few steps, and then paused, "Ya know, I think I've figured out why you and me hate each other's guts."

"Oh ya? Do enlighten me."

Natsu threw a smirk back at him. "We're kinda cut from the same cloth, you and me."

Crap. Gajeel had thought the very same thing just now.

"Doesn't mean we'll ever be friends, though," Natsu quickly added.

"Oh no! And I was just gonna ask you for your email address so we can chat the nights away about soap operas."

"...And that's why."

**.a.a.a.**

"Crap! He totally saw me!" Lucy shrieked the minute Natsu came back to the stairway.

Her boyfriend grinned teasingly at her. "Yeah. You're the worst secret agent ever," he said, ruffling her hair. "Thank god you're at least pretty."

The blonde puffed out her cheeks. "Meanie!"

Natsu dug his hands in his pockets and started walking down the stairs. "C'mon, let's go." Lucy startled and quickly followed him.

"Wait, so do we just believe what he says? Think about what he's done..."

He chuckled and took Lucy's hand the moment she was within reach. "She can trust him."

Lucy blinked at him. "_You _of all people say that about him? How are you so sure anyway?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Just a hunch."

She gave a sigh of resignation. "Okay then," she said and then smiled sweetly up at him. "Thank you for doing that. Talking to him and all. I know how hard it was for you." Lucy intertwined their fingers to put emphasize on her words. "It really means a lot to me, Natsu."

"What can I say," he grinned, squeezing her hand. "Guess I got tamed."


	8. Special: Romeo and Fake-Juliet

**AN: **Yet another special before the karaoke arc. Wow, with how I'm driving the anticipation up, it really has to be a real spectacle, huh? I have to do my best... Something really good has to happen.

Anyway, this was an idea that has been floating around in my head since the 'Meet the Dragneels' chapter and I just had to squeeze it inbetween so it would fit chronologically (and it's so looooong for a special). The beginning is in here just so there won't be a huge WTF moment in the karaoke arc. Maybe someday, I'll get to detail to what happened behind the scene in this chapter... Would anyone want to see that? And while we're at it, maybe another Mail Madness chapter after the karaoke arc?

Let me know!

**Honey, Honey**

**Special: **Romeo and Fake-Juliet

"Is it all right if I bring someone with me to karaoke?"

Three pairs of female eyes widened, and their owners abruptly stopped walking to look at Erza whose face was matching her hair quite nicely right now. While Lucy and Levy were still gawking like they were faced with an unsolvable riddle, Mirajane clasped her hands together in absolute delight, her eyes sparkling in a very unsettling way.

"Bring someone? Like, a _man_?!" she squealed so high-pitched that Levy next to her grimaced, "What's his name? Is he someone we know? If not, where does he go to school? How old is he? Is he handsome? Is he rich? What's his eye color? Did you kiss? How long have you been-"

"Oh god, stop it. You're embarrassing our species," Levy sighed.

While Mirajane puffed her cheeks angrily at Levy, Lucy came up to a sputtering Erza. "Seriously though, who is it?"

If possible, Erza's face became even redder than her hair as she looked down, uncomfortably fidgeting as if she was debating whether it had been the worst idea she's ever had to talk to her friends about all of this - no surprise there, after all they had all been through that, seeing how Mirajane was included in all of this. But then again, that woman had her spies everywhere, she would have found out either way.

"It's... it's Jeral."

Erza didn't even dare to look at her friends now.

Levy was the first to speak. "Jeral as in Siegrain's _twin brother_?"

Fairy Academy's Titania sunk into herself even more. "...Yes."

"As in... the brother of the guy you were supposed to date?" Lucy added in sheer disbelief. "Who looks _exactly like him_?"

This was so awkward it almost hurt physically and Erza kind of wanted to vanish. "...Yes."

"...That's kinda kinky, Erza."

"Yeah, won't it be awkward?"

Nothing could be more awkward than _this_ conversation.

"Oh, leave her alone!" Mirajane suddenly said, smiling brightly. "I think it's romantic."

Lucy rolled her eyes at the ivory-haired idol. "You think _everything's_ romantic. Even Natsu drooling all over my hair during lunch break today when he was taking a nap on my shoulder."

"But it's so cute how he's comfortable enough to drool on you..."

"What the heck is wrong with you?!"

Levy rubbed her chin in thought. "Now that I think about it... If Erza gets married to Jeral, Siegrain would be her brother-in-law. Talk about _straaange_." Then she snapped her fingers, giggling. "Hah! They could switch places, and she'd never know! You know how they say twins share everything..."

"I made a grave mistake telling you," Erza snapped and resumed walking, leaving her friends behind.

By now, Levy was laughing out loud, following Erza. "Oh, come on! I was joking! Joking!"

"That Gajeel really corrupted you."

"Hey!"

While Mirajane was eagerly urging Erza to share some details about her 'blossoming romance' with Jeral, and Levy making a few funny remarks here and there (Gajeel really had kind of an impact on her behavior), Lucy remained a few steps behind giggling to herself. As they walked past a park, she let her gaze roam and it landed on the swing of the small empty playground where a purple-haired girl was sitting all by herself.

Purple hair... Why did she look so familiar?

Lucy stopped when a realization hit her. Wait. Wasn't that Natsu's younger sister? What was she doing there all by herself? She looked a little lost and... kind of sad.

"Lu-chan?"

Her friends had also stopped, staring at her with quirked eyebrows, expectantly. Lucy quickly shot them a smile, waving it off. "You go on ahead without me, girls. Something... uh, came up."

Levy cocked her head at her. "O... kay? Well, gimme a call later?"

"Yup!"

Lucy grinned, waving her goodbye as she walked straight into the park until her friends were out of sight. As she approached the playground, she could clearly make out sniffs from the little girl. Just as she thought. She really _was _crying. That moment, Lucy wondered if it really was a good idea to talk to her now. She only met her that one time at Natsu's house, and they didn't talk very much. Honestly speaking, she kind of got the feeling that the youngest Dragneel didn't like her very much.

Screw it. She clearly needed someone right now. And she was her boyfriend's sister. There was no way Lucy could ignore her when she was obviously so upset.

The ground around the swing was filled with little pebbles instead of sand, so the second Lucy stepped on it, Wendy's head shot up in shock and when she recognized her brother's girlfriend, she quickly wiped her eyes and running nose, her red cheeks only growing redder.

But she remained silent.

Lucy smiled uncertainly, crouching down in front of the girl, but Wendy's bangs were still then covering her eyes. "Wendy? It's you, right?"

Wendy nodded timidly.

"Why are you crying?" Lucy asked carefully, as if not to scare her.

The little girl shook her head, energetically. "... N-not crying..." she whispered through a hiccup.

_Suuure_, Lucy wanted to mock, but didn't. That definitely wouldn't work with a twelve-year old. So she gave a sigh, straightening up and walking over to the second swing where she flopped down and grabbed the steel-ropes.

"Well, I'll just swing here for a bit, if you don't mind," she said, pushing herself off the ground. "If you feel like talking, you can talk. If you just wanna be quiet, that's okay, too. Whatever you feel like, it's fine."

Wendy sniffed and slowly looked up at the older blonde. Lucy flashed her a big, winning smile.

"I'm great at keeping silent things company."

The younger girl quickly looked away and at the ground, drawing small circles with her tiny shoes. "I'm not a thing..." she said really quietly.

Lucy's eyes widened, and an embarrassed giggle bubbled out of her mouth. "Right! I know that. Sorry, I wasn't really refering to a person," she mumbled. "More like... uhm, a stone..."

"A stone...?"

A sad smile ghosted over Lucy's face. "Nevermind," she sighed. Maybe she wasn't as great with kids like she always thought. She forced a nervous smile on her face. "I'm great at listening, too! Maybe I could help you, you know. Onee-chan would _love _to help out!"

Wendy looked a little intimidated. "Y-you're a little weird, Lucy-san..."

Oh god, this was going _so _bad. Did she just honestly call herself _Onee-chan_? This kid really had to hate her now if she didn't already...

"You and Natsu... You really like each other, right?"

Lucy cursed herself for blushing, but the question really did came out of the blue. She watched the younger girl with wide eyes, uncertain what to think of her question. She dug her feet into the ground to stop her swinging and looked up into the sky, thinking of Natsu. That was when the first, sincere and soft, smile crept to her lips.

"Well," she said gently, "I can only hope he likes me as much as I like him, but... Yeah."

She could see Wendy biting her lower lip. "Do... do you get teased in school? Because you like my brother?"

Lucy's face darkened. "All. The. Time."

"R-really?" Wendy looked surprised.

"Hah, you wouldn't believe! They call us 'silly couple' and everything."

"But Natsu still talks to you..."

Lucy quirked a brow. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't he?"

It had to be something Lucy had said, because Wendy suddenly started sniffing again and soon big tears were rolling down her cheeks. And it totally broke Lucy's heart. She was such a cute girl and seeing her cry would probably even melt Gajeel's heart. The blonde immediately jumped to her feet and ran over to Wendy.

"H-hey, what happened? Did I do something to make you cry?" she said, sounding panicked.

Wendy shook her head, hiding her face with her hands as sobs shook her body. "N-no, I'm," a hiccup, "s-sorry, I... I'm just so jealous..."

That caught Lucy off-guard. "Jealous? Of me?" Did Wendy have a brother-complex? Hello there, awkward situation...

Wendy nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again... then shook her head. _Which is it?_ Lucy thought, agitated. What the heck was she supposed to do now? There was an almost-teenager crying in front of her, obviously with some kind of heartfelt problem. She never had to face anything like this before. As an only child, this was completely new territory to Lucy. So she just awkwardly stood there, waiting for Wendy to calm down.

Which she did, a few minutes later. "C-can you keep a secret, Lucy-san?"

Lucy quickly nodded. "Of course!"

"Do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"I promise! And I never break a promise." That actually was something she was very proud of. She cherished promises more than anything else in the world.

Wendy bit her lip, bringing her hands down to her lap. "There's a girl in my class. She likes my childhood friend, Romeo-kun..."

Romeo, that rung a bell. Wasn't that the kid who told Wendy all that weird stuff about practicing to make babies in high school? Lucy's eyebrows knitted up. That brat was the source of the single most embarrassing dinner in her life. She shuddered just thinking about the memory of Natsu's father reminding them to be careful since it was only practice... Especially since they weren't even doing anything.

"And Juliet and her friends keep bullying me since Romeo-kun and I are always together..."

Wait, Juliet? Romeo and Juliet? This had to be a joke.

"She always calls me Fake-Juliet, and since my name is Wendy I should just go to that yucky boy Peter who always pulls the girls' skirts up..."

Now there's a Peter, too? What kind of twisted coincidence was this?

Lucy really didn't know what to say. "N-now, that's not nice. You can't go to Peter."

Wendy's eyes filled with tears again. "And now, she told everyone that I like Romeo-kun and that I want to kiss him." Another sniff. "All the kids were laughing at us when we came to school together, chanting that song about us sitting in a tree, and that we're having a hundred babies..."

_Again with the babies. And already a hundred..._, Lucy thought, dot-eyed. What was up with kids these days?

"Romeo-kun got really mad at me. He... he said..." Wendy let out a heart-wrenching sob, tears rolling down her cheeks again, "He said he hated me and told me to never talk to him again..."

_What?! _

Oh, that no-good... How could he say that to the sweetest girl Lucy had ever met? She was downright bristling with anger. She really felt like going to that Romeo-kid and giving him a real good piece of her mind. Yeah, he was only twelve or thirteen or whatever, but Wendy clearly _did _like him a lot. Else she wouldn't be crying her eyes out over him.

"Boys," Lucy muttered, angrily clenching her fists. "No matter which age, they'll always be frustrating..."

"He... he won't even look my way anymore. He just ignores me," Wendy sobbed, wiping her tears with her sleeve. "Besides Charle, he's my only friend... I-I feel so lonely..."

Lucy looked down at her quietly, before sighing and kneeling down to take her hands with a small smile. "That's not true, right? I'm your friend," she said. Wendy just stared at her wide-eyed. "And I said I'd help you. That was a promise, too. I always keep my promises, remember?"

She wasn't really sure, but there could be a small smile tugging at the corners of Wendy's lips. "Y-yes..."

"The point is that you like this Romeo kid, right?"

The younger girl's face flushed crimson and she looked down, barely giving a small nod. "I... I like Romeo-kun a lot... He's my important friend..."

"I think," the blonde squeezed her hands encouragingly, grinning, "he feels the same way."

Wendy sniffed again. "Wh-what do you mean?"

The blonde couldn't help a light giggle. "Let me tell you something about boys his age, Wendy. They can't show their feelings. Honestly? That won't really change much when they're older, too," she said, thinking of Natsu. "I think he did what he did because you're just as important to him. He doesn't want the other kids teasing you anymore, so he's mean to you. But boys are always mean to girls they like."

"Was Natsu mean to you, too?" the younger asked quietly.

Lucy gave a wry laugh. "Mean is an understatement. Remember the story with the bucket on my first day of school?" Wendy nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, that was the start of a long, successful career of him bullying the hell outta me. Heck, he called me Luigi for weeks! And people started to pick up on it, too!"

Wendy actually gave a small giggle.

"And that's not all," Lucy scowled, remembering everything as clear as if it happened only yesterday, "Fake spiders in my desk, he sent me to the wrong classroom _countless _times, and no matter what I said in class, he always had to comment on it in some way..."

Thinking about it, why didn't she realize Natsu liked her sooner? It had been _so _obvious. He had always had that weird infatuation with her and had never left her alone. She really had been dense, huh?

Realizing that she had been drifting off-topic, Lucy quickly shook her head, slightly blushing. "What I'm trying to say is," she said, determindely, "if you wanna be friends with Romeo, you can't just give up and sit here crying. Step up for yourself!"

Wendy blinked at her with big eyes. She looked so cute that Lucy just wanted to squeeze her to death. "Step up?" she echoed in confusion.

"Don't just let them take him away from you. Make him see that you're strong enough to defend yourself and that you don't need his protection." Lucy smiled brightly at her. "You're Natsu's little sister, right? Show them what's in you, 'cause I know there's a dragon slumbering under this cute facade!"

The youngest Dragneel looked aside, uncertain. "I-I don't know if I can... They're so mean..."

Lucy shook her head. "Who cares about them? What counts is your friendship with Romeo, right?" Wendy remained silent, so Lucy continued, "So your name isn't Juliet, whatever. I know everything about literature and there's a thing called crossover. Who says Wendy has to be with Peter and Romeo has to be with Juliet? Why can't Romeo and Wendy be together?"

The little girl was silent for a few more heartbeats. "You... you really think I can be that strong...?"

"I know it!" Lucy grinned, so honest that even Wendy smiled.

"I... I'll try my best!"

**.a.a.a.**

The next day, Lucy was just walking out of school with Natsu next to her and he just wouldn't shut up about some stupid prank he deemed the greatest in his history that he had pulled on Gray this morning, and somehow it had involved Gajeel getting hit by it to, and... Elfman? Truth was, Lucy wasn't really listening. She was thinking about Wendy and whether she had said anything useful to her.

By the end of their conversation, Wendy had looked pretty determined and rather cheerful when they parted ways, but who knew how it had worked out in the end. She just hoped she had been of some help to her, at least in some way.

"And then he turned to me and..." Natsu abruptly stopped in his rambling to grin. "Hey! Wendy!"

Lucy's head rocketed up. Wendy? Just ahead at the school gate, there was the purple-haired little sister of Natsu waiting, shyly glancing around until she spotted them and gave a small wave. Natsu immediately ran up to her, Lucy followed... well, normally.

"What's up? Came to walk home with your awesome big bro?"

"Actually," Wendy said, very quietly, "I wanted to talk to Lucy-san for a moment."

Natsu just gawked blankly. "Lucy? Why _her_?"

"Is it forbidden?" Lucy practically snapped, placing a hand on Wendy's back to lead her away. "You stay here. Us girls need to discuss something."

She lead the younger one further away where she was sure Natsu wouldn't hear anything. He just stood by the gate, sulking that he was left out, but she couldn't care less. The most important thing was how Wendy was doing and if things were okay now.

"So?" Lucy said, impatiently smiling. "Anything new?"

Wendy blushed a little, playing with her fingers. She glanced at the ground for a few heartbeats, before she lunged forward and threw her little arms around Lucy's waist in an endearing hug. She looked so happy that Lucy almost felt the urge to cry. But she only awkwardly carressed Wendy's hair.

Giggling, she said, "Hey, what's that for?"

"Thank you, Lucy-san! I... I did it!" Wendy sputtered happily. "I stepped up like you said and told them to back off! They call me Wendy the Killjoy now, but I don't really care!"

"Really? Good for you! Not about the killjoy part, but still!" The blonde couldn't help but grin. "And what about Romeo?"

Wendy slowly let go, apparently embarrassed of her sudden show of affection. "I... I told him that I didn't care what the others said. That no matter what, I wanted to stay friends. He was..." She blushed more fiercely. "He was really glad..."

_Awww! Can I keep her?_, Lucy thought. This kid really wasn't good for her health. She was just _too _adorable. And who knew, maybe someday when she was old enough, Wendy would realize that this wasn't just friendship talking...

"And the best part!" Wendy said, gleefully smiling. "When Juliet came to bully me some more, Romeo-kun told her to go eat some poop!"

Lucy just gawked, dot-eyed. "That's... explicit." She quickly snapped out of it and ruffled Wendy's hair. "See? Told ya you could do it. It's in your blood." Oh crap. Not really, they were only step-siblings...

"Heehee." Wendy giggled. She had a beautiful laugh. "It's all thanks to you, Lucy-san. I hope you can be my real Onee-chan some day."

The blonde blushed crimson at her insinuation. And at the Onee-part, she had kind of hoped Wendy hadn't heard that. But mostly because of the insinuation. Becoming her real sister would mean... marrying Natsu...

Lucy smiled nervously. "W-well, I'm glad everything worked out for you..."

Suddenly, Wendy's cheeks turned rosy again and her smile vanished. Lucy arched a brow when the younger girl pulled something out of her pocket and held it up under Lucy's nose, not daring to look at her face.

A cell phone.

"L-Lucy-san, would it be okay..." Wendy's voice faltered for a bit, before she summoned all her courage and asked, "Would it be okay if I emailed you some time?"

The blonde was so touched, her voice cracked a bit, "R-really?" She quickly shook it away, "Of course! I'd be so happy if you did!"

Wendy was apparently expecting a no, and practically beamed at her. "Yay!"

Lucy happily typed her email address into Wendy's cell phone, and they said their goodbyes because Romeo was waiting for her somewhere. Ah, young love. Even though they didn't know yet, but Lucy did. They reminded her a bit of her and Natsu, at least how it could have been between them at their age. And how it could be for them once they reached _their _age.

She was humming to herself when she got back to Natsu, and he only eyed her in confusion. "What was that all about? Since when were you and my sister all buddy-buddy?"

Lucy gave a mysterious giggle, walking ahead.

"It's a secret!"


	9. Karaoke Extravaganza

**AN: **FINALLY! The first chapter of the karaoke arc! Took me long enough, I know. It's a little different from my usual writing style and maybe a little too slapstick-y, but whatever. I like how it turned out in the end. Especially AT THE END. You'll see.

I'll say it again, don't get your hopes up for GrayxJuvia in this story, even though this chapter may lean towards it a little. I don't plan on going there. What I am planning for though, is to find someone for Mirajane. I'm still at a loss though. Any suggestions?

And yeah, this chapter will be very OOC and very shoujou-ish. Bear with me. You have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if I were Hiro Mashima.

**Honey, Honey**

**Chapter 10: **Karaoke Extravaganza

There were four facts that Lucy was painfully aware of.

Fact number one: No one had said anything for about fifteen minutes.

Fact number two: Somewhere along Natsu had fallen asleep and was now making sounds that sounded more like a broken machine than snoring. Sometimes he mumbled something about roast beef... Something like "No, don't fry that. I'll eat it raw." In his world, this was probably what he deemed a nightmare.

Fact number three: Lucy was at a loss of what to do because Juvia was _again_ crying.

Fact number four: That bastard of a stray cow, meaning Gray Fullbuster, did _not_ show up.

Lucy would murder that assrat. No, that was still too nicely put. She would pluck out each of his hairs slowly while she kicked him repeatedly in the crotch, so that he'd never be able to produce a coward like him.

Was he serious? First, he somehow - and she wasn't even sure how it happened, neither did she _want _to know - called everyone up for a karaoke party, and after a long preach from her, said yes to meeting up with her, Juvia and Natsu an hour before everyone else came, and now he had the nerve to stand Juvia, and most importantly, _herself _up?!

And now Natsu was drooling over her shoulder.

"Are you kidding me?!" she snapped thunderously and violently pushed him off of her so he toppled onto the couch.

Lucy gawked wordlessly as her stupid boyfriend tucked his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, grinning in his sleep. That's right, he was still asleep. She actually feared she might really kill him this time.

Her minor act of violence seemed to have shaken Juvia out of her quiet crying. She clasped her hands over her face, wailing loudly, "Juvia can't believe Gray-sama stood her up!"

"M-maybe he got stuck in traffic or something," Lucy offered nervously, a shaky smile on her face. "You know how hellish it can get out there on Saturdays and Magnolia's subway isn't exactly reliable..."

Juvia only cried harder and Lucy felt the urge to pluck her ears with the chips on the table. They were in the Karaoke Parlor for what again? Oh yes. Because of Gray. And to sing. Both things - yes, Gray counted as a thing; a human had a backbone at least, and a male had balls - were absent. This was just sad and painful.

Don't even let her get started on Juvia's situation. Lucy wasn't sure what she was more pissed about: That she was stuck here with a crying chick that she didn't even know and her sleeping boyfriend, or the fact that Gray had turned out to be an asshole towards a really sweet girl that was crazy about him and had so looked forward to this. And without even having the courtesy to cancel! The nerve of him!

Juvia was meanwhile wailing uncontrollably. Meaning, Lucy had her whining in one ear, and Natsu's blatant snoring in her other. Meaning, she was getting a headache like somebody hammered against her brain with an iron club.

_Kill me, please_, she thought as she massaged her temples.

"All right, that's it," Lucy hissed under her breath, raised her fist and boxed Natsu's stomach as hard as she could.

The idiot woke up with a loud cough and jolted upright, clutching the throbbing spot. "Sh-shit! That pork! Kicking me... All I wanted was that delicious..." Blinking when he realized where he was, he started rubbing his head. "Where's the pork?"

"Look in the mirror!" Lucy snapped, whacking him over the head. "Are you serious, falling asleep like that?! Go sing something!"

Natsu furrowed his brows. "What the... I gotta pee, though..."

The next moment, Lucy's face was directly in front of his, but not for a good-morning-kiss as he hoped, but for a glare so vicious it clearly meant you-did-something-that-I-will-kill-you-for.

"Be quick. Or I'll _castrate _you."

"A-aye, ma'am!"

Sheesh, she could be as scary as Erza sometimes. And when she said stuff like that, Natsu strongly leaned towards believing that she meant what she said. As he stood up, he shot a quick, confused glance towards the Juvia girl who was crying loudly and miserably, and then looked back over Lucy while pointing his thumb at the bluette.

"What's gotten up _her _ass?"

Lucy's glare couldn't have been more menacing and Natsu practically _ran_ out the door.

**.a.a.a.**

Natsu gave a sigh of relief as he stood in front of the toilet and poured his pent-up... well, stuff out. He momentarily even forgot about his seething girlfriend, and that was saying something, since a pissed Lucy was an unpredictable Lucy. And an unpredictable Lucy was undeniably very bad news.

He was so sucked up in the feeling of relief that he only vaguely noticed the creaking of one of the stall doors being slowly opened.

"Yo."

"GYAAAAH!"

Natsu was so shocked at the sound that he half-turned _while_ still doing his business and quickly put his man-stuff back where it belonged - into his pants - as he faced a pale-looking Gray, kneeling on the floor. Well, or rather leaning weirdly against the toilet.

"Shit! Don't scare me like that, popsicle!" Natsu got some papers to dry his mess up. "Nasty, dude..."

The next moment, when everything was cleaned up, it suddenly dawned on him. What the heck was Gray doing in the toilet? Wait, he remembered now. The asshole didn't even show up! Had he been here this whole time? Certainly looked like it. His face was blue or green or something. He definitely looked even more ugly than usual.

Natsu grimaced at him. "You look like shit."

That was when he saw the cold sweat on Gray's face. The black-haired teen kind of looked like a psycho when he seethed the next words, "I'm pissing blood."

"...What?!"

"And I puked a little, too."

"What the _fu_... Dude, I don't need to hear about that!" Natsu's face was distorted in thorough disgust. "Is that what that smell in here is? Is that you, man?!"

"Hell if I know! I've been here for an hour!"

The pictures that statement brought to Natsu's mind made him feel like throwing up himself. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Gray's face came back to life at this - if only the color of his cheeks. "I-I think I _might _be sick. Leave me alone. Go die. And let me die in peace."

That took Natsu off-guard. "...Wait, you're _sick_? And you still came?"

"What's it to you. It's-" The black-haired teen cut stopped abruptly, eyes wide as he clasped a hand over his gagging mouth. "D-damn it- Graaah...!" Next moment, to both his and particularly Natsu's dismay, Gray's head was hanging over the toilet and he was, surely enough, puking his insides out.

"If that's what you call a little, I really don't wanna know what's real puking to you..." Natsu uttered, gawking. It was like a morbid crime scene. He couldn't look away, no matter how much he wanted to.

Gray lifted his head between gasps only so much that he could speak. "She was looking foward to this so much," he mumbled, wiping his mouth. "I wouldn't be a man if I disappointed her-Graaah!" And then he continued barfing with the most hideous sounds Natsu had ever heard in his entire life.

"Dude, you're an idiot."

"Grraaaah..."

"You must really be in love with that girl."

Silence. Gray had actually stopped barfing. "I'm just doing what any gentleman would do."

Natsu quirked an eyebrow. In disgust. "By throwing up on her?" he dead-panned.

"If that's what I gotta do to show her I'm not interested," Gray rasped out. "Then yeah, that's what I'll do!"

"Do you think that sounds heroic?!" Natsu snapped, kicking the black-haired teen in the butt so his face landed right in what he just... well, you know. "Gentleman, my ass! And an ass is what _you _are!"

Gray started barfing all over the place. "How could you! That's just... Graaahh!"

"DON'T BARF THIS WAY!"

**.a.a.a.**

"Welcome back," Lucy said to Natsu the moment he stepped through the door. To anyone but him, her expression would have looked like the perfect mask of lovely. But he knew her better than that. Especially when her face darkened as she said the next part, "_Darling._"

_She never called me that. Not good,_ said his inner voice. Natsu was dumb enough to ignore it.

He just grinned. "Hey, cutie pie."

The next moment, Lucy had him by his collar. "Listen, I went through _hell _while you were gone. You think I'm kidding? Well, imagine your step-mom feeding you vegetables, dying Happy's fur back to a normal color and the world spontaneously combusting into ashes. _That _kind of hell!" she hissed as dangerously as he's ever heard her. "If you don't have a solution to this, I swear to God I will _bury _your scarf in a place where you'll never find it!"

Natsu gulped. Then slowly, very slowly took his girlfriend's hand in his own. "Relax, I found him."

He actually thought that would manage to soothe her wrath. Well, it only added more fuel to the fire.

"HE'S HERE?!"

Like on cue, a miserable shadow of what once was a human crawled into the karaoke room. Lucy actually _screamed _in terror and hid behind Natsu who was watching the figure in pure disgust. What, had she not had enough of ghosts for one lifetime? First that time in her house a few months ago, and now this. Life just wasn't fair anymore. She started sputtering to her boyfriend about that holy baseball bat and where it was when it was really needed when Juvia suddenly squealed in shock.

"GRAY-SAMA CAME!"

Lucy gawked blankly as Juvia ran over to the thing on the floor and hugged it tightly until the thing made awful gagging sounds and seemingly passed out.

"Don't worry, Gray-sama! Juvia forgives you!"

"That's GRAY?!" the blonde screeched so loudly that it had Natsu's ears ringing, "What the hell is wrong with him? And what's that god awful _smell_?!"

Natsu gave an irritated sigh. "That smell would be him."

"What has he been doing?!"

"Nothing much, except throwing up all over himself." His face darkened. "And me."

Lucy took a good sniff at her boyfriend, only to push him away from her so violently that he actually toppled over. "YOU STINK!"

**.a.a.a.**

"He's useless like this," Lucy mumbled. "You should've just killed him."

"Y'know, sometimes you scare me more than movie villains," Natsu whispered under his breath, only to get pinched by his girlfriend. Hard. He actually _squeaked_. Like a mouse. "The girl seems pretty content, though."

"That's because she's insane."

The couple watched in absolute horror how Juvia comfortably leaned against Gray, who was looking like, for a lack of a better word, _shit_. Lucy doubted he was even conscious at the moment. The way he hung over the end of the couch just seemed too suspicious. But Juvia didn't even seem to notice as she rubbed her head against his chest like a cat.

This had to be one of the most disturbing sights she had ever witnessed.

Lucy almost felt like throwing up herself. "Remember that one date at the aquarium when we got thrown out because you suddenly felt competitive because the dolphin was picking a fight or whatever?"

"Oh yeah, that was fun!" Natsu started laughing. "You said it was the worst date ever, though."

"I take that back. I didn't know true terror then."

Natsu snickered again, slinging an arm around the blonde. "Aw, c'mon. Let's make the best of the situation, okay? With the bastard out cold and the chick pre-occupied, why don't we get a little cozy our own..." he murmured as he brushed his lips against hers.

"N-Natsu! The others could come any minute now..." Lucy stammered, blushing fiercely. And then she felt his hand on her thigh, really, really high up on her thigh. "Eek! What're you doing!"

Natsu glared at her indignantly as she pushed him away. "Is it wrong that I want to touch my girlfriend?" he practically snarled. "Seriously... I'm a guy. It's hard to hold back."

Lucy blushed crimson at what she thought those words insinuated. _He... he can't mean... PRACTICE?!_

The next moment, Natsu had her fist colliding painfully with his face.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

With Natsu now almost as unconscious as Gray, Lucy was left with the only other option, which was looking up at Juvia. Who had a very unsettling smirk on her face. And unsettling in this context meant plain _crazy_.

"So you're challenging Juvia," she said to Lucy, and the blonde almost laughed because she thought it was a joke. Boy, was she wrong. "Juvia will not lose to you when it comes to physical contact with a man. Gray-sama won't get jealous, no matter what you try!"

Lucy felt cold sweat forming on her head as she raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. "That wasn't- I mean, didn't we sort that out already? I'm telling you, Gray's not my type and I'm with Natsu, so-"

"GRAY-SAMA, LET'S SHOW THEM!"

"GRAAAAH!"

And that's the story of how Gray threw up on a karaoke machine.

**.a.a.a.**

"Hey, guys!" Levy chirped when she opened the door to the karaoke room. Gajeel behind her looked like he was about to face his greatest nightmare.

It got worsed when he was immediately gripped by his collar by a very fierce looking Natsu.

"The _hell_-"

Levy puffed her cheeks, angrily. "Natsu, you promised to be civil!"

That was when Natsu looked up, and honestly he looked like 50 shades of horror. Levy finally took a look at her very scary-looking best friend... and Gajeel's friend who was trying to molest a very... Oh hell, was that _Gray_?!

Natsu looked like he was on the brink of tears. "I'm so happy you're here."

Gajeel's eye started twitching uncontrollably. "THE _FUCK_-"

"This is the land where time stands still," Natsu told him in all seriousness. "You have to get me outta here! We're buddies now, aren't we?"

_Since when the hell?!_, Gajeel thought in pure horror. Damn that strange talk he had with the Salamander on the rooftop. The guy was like an adolescent school girl, thinking they were now all close and shit.

"You! You'll pay for this, woman!" he yelled at Levy, vainly trying to get Natsu to let go of him. He realized only then that his girlfriend was completely ignoring his existence and sitting down next to bunny girl with a sorrowful expression.

"What's wrong, Lu-chan? Are you okay?"

"Is my pain invisible to you?!" Gajeel snapped, Natsu was still oddly clinging at his jacket, lamenting about the unfairness of it all.

Lucy suddenly looked up, more menacing than ever. "What the hell took you so long?!"

Levy paled a little. "U-uhm, it's 7 o'clock, s-so we're right on time, you know-"

The blonde threw herself into Levy's arms, crying her eyes out. "I WAS IN HELL!"

"What do you think where I am right now?!" Gajeel yelled desperately, still trying to get rid of Natsu.

"Gajeel-kun. Hello," Juvia said calmly, slowly letting go of a very sick looking Gray. "And hello to you too, Gajeel-kun's girlfriend."

Gajeel almost lunged at her. "Don't say hello so nonchalantly, you god damn freak of nature!"

**.a.a.a.**

"So Gray's sick, huh," Levy said. "Why didn't he just stay at home?"

Natsu shrugged as he stuffed his mouth full with the chips on the table. "He said he didn't want to disappoint that girl."

"Oh, Gray-sama, such a gentleman!"

"GRAAAH!"

"Can we even use that thing anymore?" Gajeel dead-panned. "He's thrown up all over it. And he's not done yet."

Levy elbowed him teasingly, a mischievous smirk on her lips. "Why, were you gonna sing a love song for me, huuuh?"

"LIKE HELL!"

"This is the worst party ever," Lucy mumbled, shooting a side-glance at Natsu. When he caught her stare, he quickly looked away. The blonde scowled, and looked in the other direction.

Levy bend over to whisper in her ear, "Did you have a fight with Natsu or something...?"

Lucy blushed at the memory. "Something like that," she murmured, frowning.

She had told him to stay away from her. Well, he did just that. Ever since her outburst, he hadn't touched her once and always made sure to keep at least an arm-length of space between them. Lucy felt kind of bad. It had been a stupid reflex to push him away, but why did he have to get so close in a place like this anyway? He was an idiot. He had no common sense at all. Why was he so angry about something so small?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, and a vision of scarlet shone down on them.

"Good evening. Are we late?" Erza said, polite as always. Behind her, a blue-haired boy with a tattoo on his face poked his head inside, bowing to them like... well, like Erza would. Lucy couldn't help but think that he was a much better match for her than Siegrain.

"Hello."

Natsu once again just couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Oh, you're the guy from that time when I beat up Gajeel!"

"Like hell you did!" Gajeel roared, throwing a bag fullof chips at the pink-haired delinquent.

Erza showed her most vicious glare. "_He's not_."

"A-aye, sorry!"

_Natsu sounds like Happy_, Lucy thought in amazement.

Jeral gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Yes, that might be confusing. I'm Siegrain's twin brother, my name is Jeral." Then, he showed the most perfect smile any of the girls had ever seen. "Please take care of me."

"I'll take care of you," Lucy cooed, dreamy-eyed.

"Me too, me too!" Levy echoed, hearts practically surrounding her.

"HEY!" Gajeel and Natsu snapped simultaneouslyonly to glare at each other and, again, yell at the same time, "Don't copy me!" And just like that, they were at each other's necks.

"Gray-sama belongs only to Juvia," Juvia told Jeral, somewhat competitive.

"Th-that's nice..." Jeral said, taken aback.

Erza sighed at the absurdity of the moment. "Sorry. I tried to warn you, Jeral."

Jeral smiled at her, taking her hand in his. "It's fine," he said. "Your friends seem really lively. I like it."

"STOP FIGHTING!"

"But he started it, Lucy!"

"I swear you'll pay for making me come here, woman!"

"Just knock it off already!"

"GRAY-SAMA!"

"Graaaaah!"

Jeral's smile began to falter. "... _Really _lively."

Erza's eye would not stop twitching for a long, long time.

**.a.a.a.**

Natsu had not stopped staring at Jeral for minutes. And he was glaring. And it was positively horrifying how menacing he looked. Lucy gulped at the intensity of it all. It shouldn't be surprising, since he, Gray and Erza were childhood friends, so of course he would get protective. But still, she was feeling just a tad bit anxious that he would ruin this for Erza somehow. And Jeral seemed to be clearly intimidated.

"So you're Siegrain's twin brother," Natsu finally said after a while.

Jeral twitched in discomfort. "Y-yes!"

Natsu arched a brow. Lucy sometimes forgot that she was dating a delinquent. It was times like this that she was reminded. "That seems oddly convenient, huh? Your brother dumps her, and you pick up his leftovers. Is that what this is?"

"N-no, that's not it!"

"Natsu, stop it," Erza snapped. Oddly enough, this time he didn't listen.

"Oh yeah? Then what exactly are you planning, huh?" he snarled. "'Cause Erza's like my sister, you know. If you hurt her in any way..."

"I WON'T!"

The whole room became quiet all of a sudden. Jeral was suddenly very aware of his outburts, his ears growing redder and redder by the second. His fists on his knees clenched and he looked down until his bangs were covering his eyes. Lucy couldn't help but be reminded of the time Natsu had first confessed to her. Guys in love were all the same, huh?

Jeral gulped, hard. "I've liked Erza for as long as I can remember. I'm blessed she agreed to date me."

Erza gaped, her fierce as red-hot as anyone could. "Jeral..."

"I... I plan to cherish her."

Everyone was silent for a few moments - well, except for Gray who was still gagging and sounding pititful. After a while of shock, slowly a huge grin crept onto Natsu's face. And before long, he was laughing out loud, proudly, patting Jeral's back maybe a little too painful.

"Is that so? Well, seems like I was worried over nothing!" Natsu grinned. "Take good care of her. She's the best right after my Lucy."

Lucy blushed fiercely. What did he just say?

"I-I will!" Jeral said, blushing himself and taking Erza's hand who looked about as red as her new boyfriend.

"Don't worry, pal. He gave me the exact same talk when I started dating the shrimp," Gajeel said to him, a grin on his face as well.

"What? Natsu talked to you about me? You never told me that!"

"None of your business, shrimp."

While Natsu was laughing with their friend, Lucy just watched him in awe. He really cherished his friends. He really cherished _her_. He loved her, she knew it now more than ever. And he really did hold back, all this time. Through all the oppurtunities, he always thought about if she was comfortable and if she was feeling good, and it had never gotten anywhere. Just because he thought she was the most important thing. But had she ever thought about _his _feelings?

Maybe she should show her emotions a tad more openly. To show him that he was equally important to her as she was to him. To show him she loved him more than anything.

Lucy inched a bit closer to him, her face heating up. This time _she _would do it. She would initiate the contact. She would show him, just how important he was, and the time they spent. How much she cherished him.

She moved her hand closer to his, almost gripping it...

When the door opened again.

"Hiya, everyone!"

Mirajane came barging in like a hurricane, a very infectious smile on her face. She was closely followed by her brother who shouted out "MAN" the very moment he came in, and behind them there was a slender and petite girl with short white hair, a beautiful face and a huge smile that outmatched her sister's in so many way.

"I've brought a surprise with me, guys," Mirajane said, winking. "You won't believe who's back from the states!"

Lucy vaguely noticed how Gray raised his head, and everyone's voices, laughter and everything else in the room just died down completely when that person entered the room. The only confused ones were herself and Juvia. Everyone else just stared at the silhouette, blankly, confused, and totally baffled.

But Lucy wasn't even looking at the stranger. Her eyes were glued onto Natsu's face. So hurt and full of doubt, like he was looking at a ghost, someone who had just raisen out of their grave, and her heart just couldn't calm down. Her stomach felt... Painful. She felt a weird weight on her shoulders, taking her breath.

And she knew it, even before he said.

"...Lisanna."


	10. Karaoke Extravaganza II

**AN:** Part two of the karaoke arc! Probably even more slapsticky towards the end as the last one. With big surprises just all over the place! Seriously, what did I just write?

All I really have to say is that whatever happens in this story shouldn't be taken too seriously. It's a light-hearted piece and there won't be any drama, just good old crazy fun and insane stuff that won't leave _anyone _heartbroken, believe me. I'd hate bringing drama into this piece, so just take it as it comes and don't feel bad for anyone, there's no need. _Everyone _will have a happy ending in this story, I promise.

Lucy and Gajeel are such tsukkomis in this, it's not even funny.

And about Lisanna... I- I don't even. I just. I don't.

This story is just completely blowing out of proportions, but I kind of love it for that. xD

Disclaimer: Yes, I'm Eiichiro Oda. What, this is the wrong fandom?! Well, at the least I'm not Hiro Mashima, so... ha-ha.

**Chapter 10: **Karaoke Extravaganza II

The air inside the party room of the Karaoke Parlor was incredibly suffocating all of a sudden. Or maybe Lucy was the only one who felt like she couldn't breathe. That girl, that damned pretty girl who suddenly returned, the sight of her porcelain face and her graceful appearance, and the way Natsu was looking at her - everything culminated as a painful knot inside her chest.

Why was he looking at her like he was about to cry?

"...Lisanna," he whispered under his breath, but Lucy heard him clearly. Heard the emotions that the syllables held. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard him use that voice.

Lisanna lowered her head, but kept looking up with a sheepish smile, hands locked behind her back. Lucy had to admit that it was one of the most adorable things she had ever seen a girl do. She really had to memorize that pose. _Chin down, eyes forward, cute smile, hands behind_- What the hell was she thinking?! That was not the moment for this! Stupid Lucy, stupid!

Lisanna's saccharine voice snapped Lucy out of it. "Hey guys," she said sweetly. "I'm home."

"Surpriiiise!" Mirajane cried out in absolute glee, and Elfman joined in with a thunderous, "MAAAN!"

And finally, that seemed to breathe some life into everyone in the room. Especially into Natsu. Next she knew, he jumped up, a huge grin almost threatening to split his face in half as he practically lunged at the ivory-haired girl and enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug.

"LISANNAAA!" he shouted out, only hugging her tighter as he started twirling her around. "It's really you! Man, I've missed you, dude!"

Lucy could only gawk speechlessly. _Did he just call her DUDE?!_

"Oi, watch it with the twirling, dipshit!" Gajeel snarled when Lisanna's feet hit his bottle of beer. Good thing his reflexes were good enough to catch it before it could land on Levy next to him.

Natsu put her down, and Lisanna giggled as she ruffled his hair. "Hee hee. You'll never change, Natsu. Even though you look grown-up, you're still a kid inside."

"Hey! I'm super grown up, I even have a girlfriend now! Lucy, come here." He whirled around and grabbed Lucy's arm forcefully, so she practically stumbled to a halt at his side - oh great, she looked like a clumsy cow next to Lisanna. "See? I win this round."

Lisanna's eyes went wide, and a squeal bubbled out from her mouth. "No way! She's so pretty!" She bent forward, and winked at Lucy with a mischievous grin. "Be honest, you're just humoring him, aren't you?"

Natsu glared at his childhood friend. "Lucy, meet Lisanna. Don't look her in the eyes, she might steal your soul."

"Ooh, I'm a witch now. Clever. But don't expect me to finally give you a brain, Scarecrow."

The blonde couldn't help but laugh, but quickly covered her mouth with a hand. What was she doing? This was her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, for crying out loud. She should hate her! But she seemed so nice, and a lot of fun. Well, of course she would, she _was _Mirajane's sister after all. And truth be told, Natsu and Lisanna didn't really act like they dated at any time. They acted more like... siblings. Nothing more, nothing less.

Gajeel's grin couldn't be bigger. "Gihi, I already like her."

"Oh, we haven't met," said the youngest Strauss sibling to him.

Levy smiled widely, grabbing Gajeel's arm - which, to everybody's amusement, made the delinquent actually _blush _- and showing the victory sign. "This is Gajeel, my boyfriend."

"Are you serious?! Levy, you sly snake, I never knew you had a thing for bad boys!"

"Welcome back, Lisanna," Erza said to her with a smile. "I hope you enjoyed your year overseas."

Lisanna's eyes started sparkling. "Erza! You've gotten even more beautiful!" Her eyes flitted over to Jeral. "And this is... Don't tell me, he's..."

Jeral smiled politely. "My name is Jeral. I'm Erza's date."

"I can't believe it," Lisanna whined, pursing her plump lips to a cute pout. "Everyone has someone one way or another. When did you guys all become adults? I feel like I got left behind."

"You shouldn't have just left like that then."

Everyone immediately silenced at the sound of the unexpected voice. Lucy blinked in confusion, turning her head to find Gray sitting upright - albeit almost naked - on the couch, still a little pale, but scowling bitterly at the ivory-haired girl. _How did this guy recover so quickly?! He was puking his insides out over the karaoke machine just seconds ago! And why's he looking at Lisanna with that cold stare...?_

Lisanna flashed him a grin. "Hello to you too, Gray. What, missed me?"

"Pfft. Natsu was the only one crying when you left."

"HEY! I didn't cry!" Natsu shouted out him, his ears gleaming red. Then he turned to Lisanna, "I _didn't _cry, I didn't! Something flew into my eyes. B-both of them. Moths, really big ones. At the same time. Y-yeah, they were like monster-moths!"

_I'm glad he sucks at lying_, Lucy thought, looking beat.

Lisanna was now looking at Juvia, smiling friendly. "Oh, another new face. Hi there."

"Hello," Juvia retorted sceptically, arching a brow.

"Are you Gray's girlfriend?"

Before Juvia could open her mouth to answer anything, Gray had already flung his arm around the bluette's shoulders and pulled her into him. Closely. So close that Lucy actually feared that Juvia would faint just from how red her face was glowing. That much heat couldn't be good for a human. And then Gray said something that shocked the crap out of her and pretty much everyone else in the room.

"Yes, she is. Juvia's my girl," he said in all seriousness.

_WHAT?! When did that even happen?!_, Lucy's inner voice cried out, but she could just gape at the scene like everyone had gotten insane.

Juvia's eyes practically turned to hearts at this point, and her body into goo. "Gray-sama! Juvia is so happy! Was it when you threw up on Juvia's hair? Was that your way of marking your territory?" she squealed.

"Th-that's right. I thought that was obvious."

"Oh, Gray-sama, Juvia knew!"

_GROSS! That's the worst birth of a couple ever!_, Lucy screamed internally.

Lisanna smiled. "I see. Good for you."

"Yeah."

They stared at each other, for a long time. Until Gray threw up on Lisanna's shoes.

"EWWW!"

"Oh my, what a welcome," Mirajane giggled, rushing to Lisanna's side.

**.a.a.a.**

After the first moment of shock had been over, Lisanna couldn't stop giggling. Even now, in the bathroom, she was still laughing as Mirajane and Lucy cleaned her shoes and she herself tended to the lower half of her pants. Lucy was thoroughly baffled. If that bastard had thrown up on _her _shoes, he wouldn't even be living to see the next day, let alone another minute.

"I can't believe Gray threw up on me. How lame is that?" Lisanna managed through giggles. "I thought that kind of thing only ever happened in movies. That guy is so freaky!"

Mirajane looked over to her sister, a knowing smirk on her lips. "I think it's cute, though. Even though he's sick, he still came just for Juvia. That's really sweet of him, don't you think?"

"Really?" Lisanna giggled along. "That's so like him! And his girlfriend is _really _cute!"

Lucy arched a brow at Lisanna. There was something weird between this girl and Gray going on, that much she was sure of. She just couldn't put her finger on what it all had to do with Natsu. Wasn't she his ex-girlfriend? Yet she seemed really happy when Natsu had introduced her to Lucy, and Natsu hadn't shown any qualms about it either. But when it came to Gray and his... whatever the hell that weird thing with Juvia was, something seemed off.

Shouldn't it have been the other way around? This was really ominous.

Something was positively _strange_ about this girl.

"I'll go see if one of the shops are still opened and get you a new pair of shoes," Mirajane said, kissing her sister's cheek. "Be good while onee-san is away, all right?"

Lisanna wiped her cheek, scowling angrily. "Gee, stop that! I'm not a kid!" Mirajane was already gone, though, and all that was left for Lisanna to do was sigh. Yet she smiled. "Nee-chan has been way too clingly ever since I came back."

Lucy smiled absent-mindedly at her, and proceeded washing the shoes. She knew that Mirajane, Elfman, Natsu, practically everyone had missed this girl so badly. They had always told her she reminded them of Lisanna, but other than that, the issue had not been brought up. Nobody had seemed to want to talk about her much. Maybe because they had missed her so much. So Lucy had never really asked, especially not Natsu. One time, she had brought it up to Erza in a mail, but she didn't want to tell her anything either, just saying she should ask Natsu directly.

She never did. Lucy had been way too scared to find out why.

"You're really nice, Lucy. You don't even know me, yet you help me clean my stuff," Lisanna suddenly said, grinning at her. "I'm really glad Natsu's found such a good girl for himself, 'cause he's a really special guy, y'know? I'm happy to see that he's... well, happy."

Lucy blinked at her, a slow blush creeping on her cheeks. She gave a court smile, then quickly turned away.

"He talks a lot about you, y'know. So I feel like I already know you."

_How nice, they were in contact this whole time_, Lucy thought bitterly, trying to ignore the sting of jealousy in her chest.

"He's difficult, but sweet, right? He's so protective. I bet with you, he's even worse."

Well yeah, they were dating after all. Lucy was glad that he showed his jealousy. It would be weird if he didn't. It just meant her really loved her, right?

"Hey, why won't you talk to me? You haven't said a single word since I've been here."

The blonde dropped the shoe she had been working on into the sink out of shock, soaking the fabric entirely. "OH CRAP!" she cried out as she quickly shut the water off, holding the dripping shoe up.

Lisanna burst out laughing, holding her stomach. "Ahaha! The first thing I hear from you is _that_! Oh gee, this is rich, you're such a weirdo!"

"I think you're the weird one, though."

The ivory-haired girl grew silent, and Lucy was beyond taken aback that she had said that out loud. Oh god, what was she doing? She didn't even know her, and had just blurted out something like that so bluntly. This was so not polite. Why had she said that? And why couldn't she stop?

"You... and Natsu. I mean, I've heard you were... But then you and Gray. And... Y-you're so nice to me, a-and," Lucy lowered her head so that her bangs covered her eyes, "What's up with that? Weren't you Natsu's girlfriend? You should hate me, right?"

Lisanna stared at Lucy, intently, and then leaned against the sink with a sly grin. "You think Natsu and I were dating before I left?"

"W-well, there have been rumors..."

"Natsu and I were best friends. Still are, I hope. But that's all there ever was," said the white-haired girl.

Lucy blinked at her. And continued blinking. Until it finally sunk in. "Seriously?!"

"It's Gray that I dated."

"Oh, I see. Okay then." Tick, tack, tick, tack, tick, tack.

Tick.

Tack.

Tick. Ta- "YOU AND GRAY?!"

Lisanna grinned. "Surprised?" She gave a chuckle, bracing her head on one hand. "We dated for a couple of weeks before I left for the states."

The blonde was sure she looked like she had just been slapped across the face with a deer. Lisanna and Gray? Lisanna and _Gray_? This was too much. Her brain couldn't grasp all these weird new informations. Lisanna and GRAY?

"I guess he's still pissed at me because I'm into girls."

Lucy smiled brightly at her.

Lisanna grinned back.

"Uhm, come again?" said the blonde, oddly saccharine.

"He must be still pissed at me."

"A-and what came after that?"

The littlest Strauss sibling blinked, then smirked mischievously. "Oh, you mean that I'm into girls?" she breathed mysteriously. "It's true, I like girls. I'm not joking. I always thought of girls that special way, but I guess it's only when I actually tried to date a guy that I completely realized that I was gay."

"...And that guy was Gray?"

Lisanna smiled broadly. "Yup! I owe him a lot. I'm sad that he hates me."

_Of course he hates you, he thinks he made you GAY!_, Lucy screamed internally. Wow, now it really made a lot of weird sense that Natsu had been calling Lisanna 'man' or 'dude' and stuff. Or why nobody wanted to talk about her. The puzzle was finally solved. Lisanna had left with such a boom that even Lucy couldn't quite keep up with her. She didn't even want to _start _with how the others must have taken it back then.

"Oh right, Mira-nee and Elf-nii don't know about it," said Lisanna with a cute wink. "So could you be a doll and keep this a secret? Pretty, pretty please?"

Lucy just gawked blankly at her. _Is she coming onto me?!_, she thought in shock, but quickly shook it away, that insane thought. _Don't be all self-conscious just because she's into girls, Lucy you idiot!_

The blonde gave a long, stressed out sigh of defeat when she couldn't stand Lisanna's puppy eyes any longer, "Okay, fine, I won't say anything. But that doesn't make me happy, okay? Mira's one of my best friends," she told the other girl sternly, "So make sure you tell her yourself soon, alright?"

"Yay! You're the best, Lucy!" Lisanna squealed and enveloped Lucy in a tight hug that muffled the latter's surprised yell. "It's too bad Natsu met you first. You're _totally _my type, you know that? And you're so nice, too."

"Th-thanks... I guess?" Lucy uttered, awkwardly patting Lisanna's back. _I have every right to be self-conscious after all..._

Somewhere along, Mirajane had knew because of the unmistakable fangirl-scream of pure and utter glee and bliss.

"Oh wonderful, this is great! You guys became friends!"

Lisanna grinned at her sister, still an arm around Lucy's shoulder. "Yup, I've completely fallen in love with her! I hope we can be even _closer _friends one day," she shot the blonde a meaningful smirk and practically _purred_, "I'd totally fight Natsu for a girl like you, Lucy."

Lucy gaped at her in pure horror while Mirajane's melodical laugh erupted. "Oh my, you and your little jokes, Lisanna!"

_I don't think she's joking!_, Lucy thought, absolutely horrified. _NATSU, HELP!_

**.a.a.a.**

"Honey, I missed you so much!" Lucy squealed pathetically as she flopped down - rather painfully - on Natsu's lap, circling her arms around his neck. "Did you miss me, too? Hm? Lucy-chan was so lonely~"

Gajeel promptly spit out his drink, which landed on Gray - _thankfully_, since he was out cold. It just barely missed Erza, and that would have been a blood fest.

Natsu turned both blue and green at the same time. "L-Lucy," he pressed out, hoarsely, squirming beneath her, "You're kinda squishing my ba-"

"GROSS, dude! I don't need to see that!" Gajeel snapped, pointing an accusing finger, before beckoning to Gray. "It's bad enough _this _guy won't stop barfing!"

"Graaaah...!"

"JUST GO HOME ALREADY, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

"Wh-what's up with Lu-chan?" Levy mumbled, wide-eyed and baffled, to Erza who was equally stunned. "She's normally not that agressive..."

Erza was in complete awe, blushing. "Are they already at _that _stage? I need to ask Lucy for tips in the matters of physical love later." At that, _Jeral _spit out his drink.

"Man! Natsu, you're really the man!" thundered Elfman, loudly.

"YOU JUST SHUT UP!"

Natsu quirked an eyebrow at Lucy who was both blushing madly and grinning nervously at the same time. "Oi, what's the matter with you? I'm happy, but..."

"Oh _you_! We're always so lovey-dovey, don't you be shy now, sweetheart!" Lucy giggled _very _weirdly, repeatedly slapping his arm. "I love you, I love you!"

"You're hurting me, though..."

_There, you see that?_, Lucy thought desperately as she whirled to look at Lisanna. _So just give up on me, please!_

Lisanna was smiling cutely at her.

_So persistent!_, thought the blonde, blankly.

"Another challange?" Juvia suddenly said, smiling wickedly. "Juvia and her _boyfriend _will still not lose to you, Lucy-san. Juvia and her _boyfriend _are hundred times as lovey-dovey as you and Natsu-san are."

Lucy just stared at her.

"Juvia and her _boyfriend_."

"You just like hearing yourself say that!"

"Bunny Girl's acting even weirder than usual," Gajeel uttered to his girlfriend, "Promise me you'll never act desperate like _that_, shrimp." Levy just mutely nodded her okay.

Mirajane smiled brightly, clasping her hands together. "You guys are just too cute! Go ahead and pretend we're not even here! Do whatever you feel like doing!"

"I'll fucking _kill _you if you listen to her!" barked Gajeel, terrified.

"Luuucy~" someone suddenly cooed from right behind her.

_Ack!_

Lucy's eyes widened, an awkward smile on her face as she slowly, very slowly turned her head to face a sweetly smiling Lisanna, who was bending down to her level (Lucy was still sitting on Natsu's lap, after all) and wiggling a microphone in front of her nose. Lucy's eyes flitted from the microphone and up to Lisanna's face, like, a zillion times, until it finally hit her. And to make the disaster perfect, Lisanna winked cutely at her.

"Let's sing a song together?"

"Great idea, Lisanna," Natsu said with a happy grin, nudging Lucy's side, "I want my two favorite girls to get along. Go sing something together!"

_You have no idea what you're doing, Natsu!_, Lucy internally snapped at him, but her front looked like the perfect lovely image as she politely waved it off, "I would love to, but y'see, Gray here threw up all over the karaoke machine, so it doesn't work anymore." She clicked her fingers in mock disappointment, "Damn, it's such a pity!"

"What? No, no," Levy said, grinning, "They switched it out while you guys were in the bathroom. We're keeping it over here now, and Gray's barfing into a bowl on the other side."

Lucy's face instantly fell.

"See? So come on already," Lisanna claimed gleefully, pulling Lucy up from Natsu's lap by the arm, "I'm borrowing your girlfriend, Natsu."

"Go ahead, go ahead." Natsu started squirming in his seat, tugging at his pants just between his crotch. "My family jewels really needed some space anyway..."

_You REALLY have no idea what you're doing!_, Lucy wanted to cry as she was dragged along to the karaoke machine where Lisanna picked up the song book and started browsing through. Lucy was praying to god that it would not be a love song. Please let it not be a love song, not a love song, please not a love song-

"How about a _love song_?"

Lisanna smirked smugly at her while Lucy just gawked in pure horror. _You evil witch!_

_"Hellooo~_!"

The door opened to reveal a very prince-like-looking Loke (as usual), followed by two squealing fans of his, a very plastered looking Cana, and a definitely annoyed Laxus along with his squad consisting of Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow. Cana immediately went for the beer on the table, Laxus nonchalantly flopped down right between Elfman and Mirajane (Mira blushed and Elfman started yelling something weird until Evergreen sat down next to him), and Loke just stared at Lucy and Lisanna.

"Oh, were you about to sing?" asked Captain Obvious. "Did we interrupt?"

"Yes, thank you!" Lucy beamed while Lisanna just pouted.

"Oi Gajeel, you drank almost all the beer," Cana seethed at him dangerously.

Gajeel nonchalantly sipped on his seventh bottle. "I was forced by the sheer amount of shittiness in this room." Levy elbowed him and he choked, "But I'm having the fucking _time of my life_, though." She gave a satisfied nod.

Suddenly, the whole room was loud and filled with bickering and laughter, and quite frankly, it was finally a full-out party. Lucy felt a smile tugging at her lips. It had been ages since all of them were gathered in one place, it really felt cozy and so fun. She had alwaysloved just watching her friends, trying to comprehend just how lucky she was to have each and every one of them in her life. She was really blessed.

"Such a cute smile~"

How Lucy wished it would have come from Natsu, but nope - _Lisanna_. She was leaning over in the ruckus while nobody watched them, sending Lucy a coy smile.

"It's gotten pretty crowded," she cooed. "Should we slip out, just the two of us?"

_GYAAAAH!_, Lucy screamed in her mind, her head whipping around to fixate her stare on Natsu who was currently picking his nose very devotedly. Oh god, was this guy _serious_? It didn't matter, she decided to suck it up. This was the guy she loved and Lisanna was being a nuisance, so...

"Watching you pick your nose really turns me on, Natsu!" she screamed as she practically _attacked _him, slamming her mouth against his. After a second of shock, he reciprocated in the same passionate manner.

"STOP MAKING OUT RIGHT NEXT TO ME!" Gajeel roared, but neither heard him. "You're making me join barfy over there in his mission to flood the room with puke! That's disgusting, after he picked his nose! No one can sympathize with you!"

"Such a cute couple," Mirajane squealed in delight.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!"

"Another challange? Juvia and her _boyfriend _will-"

"THAT'S EVEN MORE DISGUSTING!"

Levy shot him a stern glare, "_Gajeel_..."

Gajeel paled. "I'm having a _great _time, though," he said and toasted with Cana. Only God knew what Levy blackmailed him with.

"Wh-what should we do? I-i-i-is it our duty to join in?" Erza stuttered, completely red, towards Jeral who spit out his drink _again_.

Laxus couldn't help a grin. "Still the same crazy kids," he remarked, and Mirajane smiled at him.

"But we wouldn't have it any other way, right?"

"Speak for yourself."


End file.
